Eye of the Storm
by DitzyGenius1218
Summary: What if Chloe and Cal had managed to get off the bridge? The struggle to survive on Harper's Island continues from episode 11, centering on Cal & Chloe. Updated: with a new survival story. Sort of.
1. Chance

**AN: Okay, well, I was heartbroken when Cal & Chloe died. So, I wanted to make them live and just see how things work out. I don't have too many characters to work with by now, because, apparently, they're all dead. So, pardon me if I stray from the actual plot just a bit or invent a few characters. I'm not sure how this is going to blow over with whoever reads it, but... it was worth a shot. And, yes, I'm sorry, I know Wakefield was definitely stronger than Cal, but what could I do? Deal with it :) **

Chloe watched in horror as Cal struggled against Wakefield, clenching her fists tightly around the railing of the bridge. She hated the feeling of horrific helplessness that had washed over her: she stood frozen, unable to do anything but stare and cry. Wakefield's knife, or whatever it was, she couldn't tell, was only inches from Cal's throat when Cal suddenly brought his knee up, slamming it into Wakefield's crotch. The killer barely even flinched, but the slight stumble he took had given Cal enough time to grab the sword-like object from him.

A flutter of hope passed through Chloe's mind as she watched her fiancé grip the heavy sword in his hands, not even turning around, he screamed, "Chloe! Go! Now!" He started to advance on Wakefield, who just slowly backed away, grinning morosely.

"You're really going to kill me?" He teased Cal. "Are you, now?"

"Get down!" Cal yelled. "Get on the ground!"

Wakefield merely chuckled as he lay down on the bridge. "Go ahead. Kill me."

Cal threw a brief glance back at Chloe and saw that she stood stock-still in the same place she had been a few seconds ago. Turning to Wakefield, he said, "Chloe, go. Trust me, go!"

"No!" Chloe managed to scream, her voice trembling, "not without you!"

Cal knew what he was going to do. Wakefield was right, Cal couldn't find it in himself to kill anyone, even the sick bastard murdering his friends. Very suddenly, he raised the sword and plunged it through Wakefield's upper arm, causing him to howl in agony while Chloe held back shrieks. Cal twisted the sword and ran back to Chloe, shouting "GO!" Chloe scrambled over the barrier just as Wakefield got up, pulling the bloody sword from his arm. As the blood was dripping down, he raised the sword to Cal and simply made the "come here" motion with it.

"Cal, come on! Come on, Cal! Hurry!" Chloe pleaded from the other side of the gate. Cal quickly threw his legs over the side of the bridge and inched around to the other side of the gate. Wakefield, having reached the gate, stuck his hand out and grabbed Cal's arm.

Chloe grabbed Cal and tried fervently to pull him over. Cal managed to get to the other side, but he couldn't wrench his wrist out of Wakefield's grip. Her mind racing, Chloe did the only thing she could think of. She spit through the chain-link gate right into Wakefield's face. Cal jerked his arm away from the killer, wincing at the pain that shot up his already injured arm, and ran behind Chloe. When he looked back, Wakefield was shaking his head and saying, "I'm not through with you. Just wait."

Chloe and Cal ran, hand in hand, for what seemed like hours. They ran, deeper and deeper into the forest, not bothering to look where they were going. After what had to have been miles, they sank down into each other's arms behind a tree. Chloe was sobbing quietly into Cal's shoulder, and Cal was doing his best to comfort her.

But comfort was unreachable in that godforsaken place. Chloe looked up into Cal's tired eyes and he wiped her tear-streaked face with the back of his thumb, mixing the streaks of dirt with her tears. He wrapped his sore arms around her and kissed her, trying not to shudder in fear. When they broke apart, Chloe looked into his eyes again and said, "Cal?"

"Chlo," Cal answered.

"I love you," Chloe said simply, resting her head against his chest.

"Oh, Chloe, I love you. So much," Cal reciprocated, holding her close.

They stayed huddled together for another few moments before Chloe said, "Cal? I think we should go back to the Candlewick."

"You're right. It's going to get dark sooner or later. Let's go," Cal said, pulling Chloe up.

They walked silently in the direction they thought the inn would be, being careful to look behind them every few seconds and trying to avoid making excessive noise. After an hour or so, they reached an opening in the forest and broke into a run towards the inn.

"Hello?" Chloe called anxiously, banging her fists on the locked main entrance, "It's us; Chloe and Cal!"

"Let us in!" Cal added.

They waited in a silence pregnant with suspense until they saw a pair of familiar eyes peek out of the window, then disappear as the door unlocked.

"Quick, come on," Trish ushered them inside, pausing to look around outside before closing the door and re-locking it.

"Where were you, Chloe?" she asked, even though she knew full and well what had to have happened.

"Wakefield," Chloe shuddered, sinking down into a couch beside Cal, "he snatched me when you all weren't looking. He took me and locked me in…in…a storm drain or something." When she was met with a blank look, she added, "You know. Near the bridge?"

Trish nodded. "Where is he now?"

Chloe shrugged, and Cal supplied, "We don't really know. We left him on the bridge. I got Chloe out and he trapped us. He came at me with a boarding knife and…I don't know how, but I overthrew him enough to barely get away."

"I'm guessing he didn't have a gun," Chloe muttered, grasping Cal's cold hand in her own.

"Have you seen Abby and Henry?" Trish asked, nervously twisting her engagement ring around her finger.

Chloe shook her head. "Not yet, but they'll be back, Trish."

"Damn. I wish I'd never come to this wretched island," Trish said, her eyes dangerously close to tears.

All was quiet until they heard footsteps coming quickly down the hall.

**AN: Okay, so tell me what you think! All reviews are appreciated (no hate mail, please!) and I want to know if this is worth continuing. **


	2. The Candlewick

**AN: Yes, this is really short, and I'm sorry! I've been short on inspiration lately and super-busy with everything…I promise I will try and write a longer chapter next time. **

Her heart racing, Trish picked up the rifle laying on the table beside her and aimed it at the doorway, ready to fire if necessary. Cal stood up and positioned himself in front of Chloe. The footsteps grew heavier and louder as they pounded the wooden floors. Trish had just pulled back the hammer of the gun when Abby and Henry walked into the room.

"Don't shoot!" Abby exclaimed to Trish, but going over to embrace Chloe, who was heaving a sigh of relief. "I'm so glad you're alright. You too, Cal," she added, mustering up the biggest smile she could manage.

"Have you seen Shea and Madison?" Abby asked. "Last time we saw them, they were about to leave the station."

"Oh, God," Trish breathed as Henry wrapped his arms around her, "oh, god." If what Abby said was true, her sister and niece should have been here hours ago.

"Shh, it's alright, Trish, honey, we'll find them," Henry said, trying to soothe Trish as best he could. Abby stood awkwardly, a fifth wheel without a lover to hold on to. She had no idea where Jimmy was, and if he was alive or dead. All she wanted right now was Jimmy: her Jimmy.

"Wait a minute," Chloe said abruptly, jerking her head up, "does anyone else hear that?"

The candles flickered ominously and the room was silent save for the sound of shallow breathing.

Chloe stood and tiptoed to the window, pulling the curtains aside a fraction of an inch to peek outside. She saw no one, and the noise was gone. "I don't know," she said, "but I could have sworn I heard something."

"We've got to get off this island," Cal whispered, and everyone nodded in agreement.

"How?" Trish exclaimed. "How are we supposed to go anywhere without being cornered by Wakefield? For all we know, we set one foot outside this inn and we're dead!"

"She's right," Abby noted, "Even if we're armed, Wakefield has the upper hand because he probably knows we're here and I'd bet anything he's waiting on us to leave."

"So we have no chance?" Henry asked, "No, that's not right. We've got to try, or we'll be trapped in here forever."

"But even if we do manage to get past Wakefield, he's got an accomplice somewhere!" Chloe shouted.

"We don't know that for sure," Henry said quietly. "We've just got to think."

"Think like Wakefield," Abby instructed. "What's he expect us to do next?"

"Stay in here?" Trish suggested, anxiously picking at her fingernails.

"It's a damn mind game. He wants us to not know what to do, because either way we go, he has a way of getting there or sending someone else to be there," Cal said, glancing over at the trapdoor in the floor that someone had dead-bolted shut.

"There is no way," Abby concluded, blankly staring with tired eyes. "Night is coming now anyway."

Surely enough, the light outside was slowly growing fainter.

"I'm taking Trish back to our room," Henry announced. "In fact, I think we should all go."

"I'm not going to sit here and be murdered, but I'm not going out there to be shot just yet," Chloe muttered. "You go, and be careful."

Trish rose unsteadily to her feet and Henry accompanied her to the door. With trembling hands, she slid the bolts open and unlocked the heavy wooden door. Henry pulled it open and stuck his head outside, looking around. "We're clear."

The couple hurried out, Henry with a shotgun in hand, and dashed around the inn to the back.

Abby slid the bolts on the door shut and sat back down, making sure she was able to reach the rifle laying on the table in front of her.

"So what're we gonna do?" Chloe asked, curling herself up into Cal's side.

"We're going to get out of here," Abby answered.

"I'm going to get you out of here, Chloe," Cal promised, even though the positivity of the statement seemed weak in the damp light.

As the awkward third wheel feeling came to Abby, she rose. "I'll leave you two alone for a minute," she said, walking into the kitchen.

Sitting up and throwing her arms around Cal, Chloe said, "Oh, Cal, I'm so sorry for bringing you here; this is all my fault!"

"Chloe. That doesn't matter. I love you more than anything."

Chloe blinked. "But if-"

Cal silenced her, kissing her softly. "We're going to get out of here. I promise."

They kissed and held each other for a few minutes, and as night settled in, Chloe tried unsuccessfully to stifle a yawn.

"Sleep, Chloe," Cal said, and Chloe couldn't resist laying her head down on Cal's shoulder. He stroked her hair until her breathing became slow and rhythmic. Abby re-entered the room a few minutes later.

"I think I know a way to get out of this place," she said.

**AN: So…now I have to think of how I'm going to get them out of there. A wonderful challenge. That C/C moment was not really a moment at all, I know, but what can they do when Abby's 5 feet away? I will give them a GREAT moment at some point. Reviews GREATLY appreciated!**


	3. Takeoff

**AN: Okay, so people are asking about Sully & Danny. Sully was an amazing character and I will definitely be putting him in the story at some point; maybe even this chapter. I'm undecided on whether he's going to die or not… And about Danny, well, he was killed AFTER Chloe and Cal, right? I don't think I'm going to put Danny in. I'm sorry! So, I think I'm going to go with the original plot of Sully, Abby, Henry and Danny getting Wakefield in the jail, however, Abby won't be there…then go from there. I've already kind of screwed the plot up, but…I'm trying my best here. (Also, I know there is a LOT of dialogue, and not very detailed descriptions of anything. I'm really trying to improve in that aspect.) Okay, I'll write now.**

"Hold on," Abby said, "let me think."

Cal watched her anxiously. Her eyes were darting from place to place around the room, and she was unconsciously motioning with her hands.

By the time Abby snapped out of her thoughts, almost a half hour had passed.

"Well," Cal laughed nervously, "you'd better have a good plan if it took that long to figure out."

Before Abby could elaborate on her plot, someone pounded on the front door of the Candlewick. Abby's eyes widened and she stopped breathing. Cal leaned forward to pick up a rifle that was laying on the table, nudging Chloe quickly to wake her. The pounding continued and the doorknob rattled.

"Abby, open the damn door! It's me, Sully!" shouted the voice outside.

"What if it's not Sully?" contemplated Chloe, now fully awake and slowly inching away from the door.

In the window, a face appeared. Cal, Chloe, and Abby heaved sighs of relief upon seeing that it was actually Sully.

Cal walked around the couch, slid open the bolts and opened the door to usher Sully in.

"Why are you out there alone?" Chloe yelled. "You're going to get yourself killed!"

"No," Sully smiled, rubbing his hands together, "I'm not. We've got him."

"You're kidding," accused Abby, her eyes narrowing.

"Would I kid about Wakefield?" Sully asked. "No, we really have him. Henry left Trish at their place and came with Danny and me. We were looking for him. We found him."

"Where is he?" Cal asked, still not completely convinced.

Sully shrugged. "We've got him down at the Sheriff's station, locked up. He's bleeding pretty badly."

Chloe couldn't help but smile and take Cal's hand. They were going to be okay.

"Why didn't you kill him?" Abby asked sharply.

"I'm not a killer, Abby," Sully said seriously. "I couldn't."

"What about Shea and Madison?" Chloe asked. "Did you find them?

"Down at the station with Danny. Henry went back to be with Trish."

"Well, let's go down to the station," Abby said. And with that, she put her rifle down and went to the door with Sully. "You coming?" she asked Cal and Chloe.

"No," Cal said. "Come back in an hour."

Abby and Sully left, shutting the door behind them. As soon as the door slammed shut, Cal took Chloe into a fierce embrace and held her as close as he could. Chloe tipped up her face, and Cal kissed her, hardly stopping to breathe. Chloe pulled Cal over to the couch by the lapels of his shirt and shrugged off her leather jacket, never pulling her lips away from his. She undid the first button on her shirt and said with a mischievous smile, "Let's make at least one happy memory on Harper's Island."

Shea, Madison and Danny were at the station, in the room connected to the jail cells. Henry had just left, after going in and having a word with Wakefield. Conversation was minimal, and the mood was undecided. Sully left right after Henry did to go and get Abby from the Candlewick.

Right after Sully left their sight, the door to the cells swung open and Madison shrieked shrilly. Danny jumped up and was face-to-face with none other than John Wakefield. Wakefield grabbed Danny around the neck, trying to suffocate him. A panicked Shea grabbed Madison and ran out of the room, throwing a last glance at Danny struggling against the killer.

They ran into the woods, trying to get back to the Candlewick.

"Mommy!" Madison screamed, pointing at two figures in the distance.

"Shea!" Abby yelled from 50 yards or so away, waving.

Shea and Madison sprinted to Sully and Abby, dodging trees and ditches.

"He got out," Shea panted, "he escaped!"

"What's going on?" Abby said, her voice rising.

"He just got out. He's back at the station. Danny's holding him off."

Sully's heart lurched. Boothe, Malcom, and now Danny? Danny had been his and Henry's best friend growing up, and that was all he could think.

"We left Chloe and Cal about an hour ago and started to walk over here," Abby said. "Someone needs to go get them."

"Shea, Madison, I'm getting you out of here. I saw a motorboat just sitting at the edge of the water through a clearing a half-mile back. Come on," Sully said, knowing there was nothing he could do for his best friend.

"I'll go back for Chloe and Cal," Abby said. Sully turned to her, whispered "Be careful," and handed her his shotgun.

Abby nodded, turned, and took off running back through the woods. Sully lead Madison and Shea to the clearing at the edge of the water, where, sure enough, a small motorboat was waiting. He helped them in, and pushed them off from the shore. As Shea maneuvered the boat out into the open water, Sully called, "Get help!" and started back into the woods.

Back at the Candlewick, Cal and Chloe had redressed and were trying to figure out what they should do next.

"It's been an hour and a half. They should be back," Chloe stated, the tremor starting to creep back into her voice.

"I think we should leave," Cal suggested.

Nodding, Chloe picked up the remaining shotgun and placed it in Cal's hands.

"Cal?" she whispered, looking up at him. "I love you. And I want to say thank you for coming into my life and fixing me. I was broken before, with Shane, but you put me back together. I love you more than anything."

Cal grimaced, remembering how depressed Chloe had been. "I love you, Chloe. You're perfect."

Chloe's eyes watered for a moment, but she composed herself. "Let's go."

And with that, they left the Candlewick. Once on the lawn, Cal said, "I think we should go to the other side of the island and find a way to get out."

Chloe nodded, and they started walking hurriedly away from the inn.

They'd been walking for twenty minutes and were deep into the woods when Cal saw something white sprawled on the ground. Chloe let out a strangled cry and ran over to it.

"Trish," she sobbed, "oh, Trish, come on, wake up!"

Cal squatted down and picked up Trish's left wrist and checked for a pulse.

Biting his lip, he said, "She's gone."

Chloe had known Trish since they were in preschool together, and they'd been close friends for years. Seeing her thrown on the ground, dead, in her would-be wedding dress was too much. While Cal turned Trish's body over, Chloe put her face in her hands and bawled.

Cal noticed a wound in her left side. Trish had been stabbed, and the wound was still slightly bleeding. "Chloe," he said abruptly, "we have to go. Now."

"What?" Chloe said, looking up through her tears.

"The wound is pretty fresh. I'd say it happened about fifteen minutes ago."

Chloe's eyes widened and she jumped up. Cal offered her his hand. She bent down and kissed Trish's still warm cheek, then took Cal's hand and they ran in the night.

**AN: I think this is a good place to stop for now. I wasn't sure I liked the last part, but I don't have time to fix it right now. And Shane? Well, I had this idea of a pre-Harper's sort of story centered on Chloe and sort of Cal. I'm going to be starting that pretty soon. (And no, this is not the Shane in Harper's, but I just wanted to use that name.) The prequel story will probably only interest you if you're a romantic, and it'll most likely have hardly anything to do with Harper's Island, other than the fact it involves Cal & Chloe. If I end up writing it soon, it'll end when they get on the boat in the first episode. Enjoy and review, please! ~Isobel**


	4. Update November 22, 2009

Hi, everyone! This is just an update, but PLEASE read it anyway. I started the next chapter this morning, and it's taking me a while because this chapter is mainly taken from the original dialogue of characters. It doesn't focus quite as much on Chloe & Cal at the beginning.

I re-watched episode 4 of Harper's today, and it turns out that today (November 22) is Trish's birthday. She would have been 29. So, happy birthday Trish, and may you reset in peace and have a wonderful celebration in Heaven.

Also, I REALLY want you to check out a story called Smoke & Mirrors. It's by the user "stress" and it's a collection of 100-word drabbles about the characters. Chapter 8 (Hero: Save Her, Not Me) is my favorite, and it's a Cal & Chloe, obviously. I'll give you the link to Ch. 8 below. It really brought tears to my eyes, and it fits so much into 100 words.

.net/s/5457305/8/Smoke_and_Mirrors

And if you're into Abby & Jimmy, try this story, Fire & Rain, also by Stress. It's amazing. .net/s/5251128/1/Fire_and_Rain

Copy & paste these into your browsers and MAKE SURE to add "" to the front of these. I'm not sure why, but when I publish it, it's not showing up.

Maybe you could check out my oneshot, too. It's my only other story thus far. Just go to my profile to find it. It's Abby-centered, and not my best work, but I had to rely on details from a hazy dream I had.

Also, I just wanted to put this quote on here quickly. I was re-watching episodes 2 & 3 last night, and Chloe said this and made me crack up : "Has anyone seen my cute little Englishman?"

So, I promise I'll TRY to get the next chapter up either tomorrow or Tuesday.

Reviews and messages and ideas are ever so appreciated! Thanks for reading.

~Isobel


	5. Killer Unveiled

**AN: So this is where the writing gets a little more difficult. I'm trying to keep the plot lined up in certain places, and it's not working too well for some parts. (I'm thinking of changing a little bit of who-killed-who in this chapter.) I hope you'll keep reading anyway! (One more thing- I think I've decided Sully's fate. And, this will start off with hardly any Chloe and Cal, but I need to put the actual happenings of the show in to show you where we are. Jimmy isn't in this where he should be, but it'll work out. I think.) So sorry I didn't have this up earlier; it's been a busy holiday week!**

Sully flung open the door of the police station and stopped dead in his tracks, taking in the scene. Papers were flung everywhere, and his best friend, Danny, was lying dead on the desk, impaled through his forehead. Sully's breathing sped up, even though he'd been running, and his eyes brimmed with unshed tears. Not being able to handle yet another death, he backed out of the room and out the door into the moist air. The night was starting to be replaced by a 5 A.M. dawn.

He'd survived one more day on the island.

A day that many others had been denied the chance to see.

"Sully!" someone yelled.

Sully looked towards the woods. It was Henry, beckoning him over.

Sully jogged over to him. "Henry," he panted, "Danny's dead."

"I know," Henry said, hanging his head somberly. "I saw."

"Henry, we have to find a way out."

"I just saw a boathouse a couple miles over that way," Henry gestured. "It's a long way from the marina and I couldn't get the radio to work. I was wondering if you could help me fix it."

"Let's go," Sully said. "Lead the way.

An hour of jogging and walking later, Henry and Sully reached the boathouse. They crept inside, and Henry showed Sully the radio laying on a small wooden table. Sully, though out of breath as he was, examined it carefully and noticed a red wire sticking out of place. He grabbed it and twisted it into a small hole a few inches away. Sully fiddled with the dials, finally receiving a bit of static.

"Got it," he breathed, turning the dials until he picked up a clear channel.

Sully grabbed the controller as Henry looked on, and shouted into it, "Hello? Is anyone there?"

A few moments passed before they received any response.

"This is the Coast Guard, Maria speaking. Over."

"This is Chris Sullivan and Henry Dunn. We're on Harper's Island and John Wakefield's running loose killing everyone and we need HELP!" Sully shouted.

"We sent law officials to the island two days ago, have they not arrived? Over."

Sully remembered the two officers that were in the water near the helicopter. "Wakefield shot them!"

"How many are on the island? Over."

"Last time I checked, we had Chloe, Cal, Abby, Jimmy, me, Henry and Wakefield. I found a motorboat a few hours ago and sent Shea Allen and her kid, Madison Allen, to safety, but God only knows where they are now," Sully answered.

"We're sending help. Go to the marina and wait, it could be a few hours. Over."

"The marina," Henry breathed. "C'mon, let's go."

They dashed out of the boathouse, back into the woods, heading for the marina.

---

"Hello?" Abby called into the Candlewick. "Chloe? Cal?" Upon receiving no response, she left the inn again. Now, she really had no idea what she should do. So, she walked back into the forest and crept through the trees, trying to be as silent as she could.

After what felt like hours of walking, she noticed a boathouse in a beach-like clearing. How hadn't she seen it before?

She sprinted towards it, slinging the door open and going inside the small shack.

A radio, a real radio, was sitting on the table. She clambered to pick up the controller walkie-talkie thing.

"Hello, hello, this is Abby Mills!" she cried. "I'm on Harper's Island, help!"

A male's voice responded immediately. "This is Terry Black, you confirm you are on the island with John Wakefield? Over."

"Yes, yes, that's us! Someone please help!"

"We've just talked with Chris Sullivan and Henry Dunn; they were instructed to meet us at the marina immediately. Over."

"Do I go there?" Abby asked.

"Yes, try and find Mr. Sullivan and Mr. Dunn. Over."

"Thank you!" Abby said before running out of the boathouse and into the woods.

---

"Well, it's not like I killed them all; my dad did a lot."

Confused, Sully said, "What are you talking about? Your dad's dead."

"Not that liar," said Henry. "My real dad, John Wakefield."

Sully shook his head, not wanting to believe it. "You've been my best friend since junior high."

Sully backed away. "Oh, come on, Henry, don't."

Henry told Sully how he'd killed Katharine and Reverend Faine, ending with "Pretty exciting stuff."

"Hey, Dad," Henry said casually. When Sully didn't turn around, he pointed and said, "John Wakefield's right behind you."

Sully's eyes narrowed. "How stupid do you think I am?"

"Pretty stupid," Wakefield answered, causing Sully to jump and turn around.

Henry jumped forward and plunged the knife into Sully's back, grabbing him around the neck and jerking the knife up. "You know, I should've dumped Trish," he said. Sully fell to the ground and drew a final breath.

---

Abby walked through the woods, trying to find someone. She was alone but armed, and she was terrified. She hadn't been able to find Cal and Chloe, but as she tripped over a log, she saw someone approaching her.

"Henry!" she exclaimed. "Where's Jimmy?"

Henry was out of breath, and looking distraught, he told Abby, "Wakefield got him."

Abby stopped breathing. This couldn't be happening.

"I'm so sorry," Henry muttered. Pausing for a moment, he said, "I've been looking for Trish and Sully."

The sound of helicopters reverberated above them. "Do you know where we're supposed to meet them?"

"The marina," Abby said weakly, "but the guy on the radio said he'd talked with you and Sully."

Abby was trying to put the pieces together in his head. What was going on?

"You said you hadn't seen Sully," she whispered.

"I haven't," Henry said, his breath fogging up in the morning chill. "Abby," he said, almost warningly.

"What's wrong?" Abby asked, her heart starting to race.

Her eyes widened in shock as he held up a knife and said, "It's okay. It's over."

Suddenly, he shoved her aside and plunged the knife into Wakefield's chest. He'd been standing behind her the whole time.

She watched in sheer horror as Wakefield staggered on his knees, saying, "Henry" as if calling for help. Abby looked between the two as Wakefield stared at Henry, dying. The killer fell to the ground, and Abby gaped at Henry, almost understanding.

"Abby," Henry murmured once more.

"The way he looked at you," Abby breathed, starting to panic.

"Abby."

Realization hit Abby like a tidal wave. "It's you," she said faintly.

Henry rushed at her as she tried to run away. He grabbed her by the back of her neck and slammed her to the ground. The last thing she saw before she passed out was the Coast Guard helicopter.

---

"Do you hear that?" Cal asked, pausing alertly.

Chloe frowned. She heard a distant rumbling sound that was slowly growing closer and closer.

"It's a helicopter!" Cal exclaimed, a hint of joy creeping into his tone.

"Where's it going?" Chloe said, futilely straining to see beyond the thick layer of trees.

"I can't see, nor can I tell by ear," Cal muttered.

Chloe let go of Cal's hand for a moment and strayed over to another tree, trying to find a spot where the foliage wasn't so condensed. She kept glancing upwards until she found a gap in between a few trees.

"Cal, I can see it!" she proclaimed.

The woods were silent. Chloe tore her gaze from the sky and looked at the spot where Cal had just been and saw absolutely nothing. She started to tremble, her eyes frantically searching the area around her.

"Cal?" she said tentatively, fiddling with the ring on her finger. "Cal, where are you?"

Nothing. Not even so much as the snapping of a twig to signify any kind of presence nearby.

"Cal!" Chloe screamed, starting to blindly run in one direction, the helicopter long forgotten. As she tore through the trees, frantically looking in all directions, she saw smoke rising behind her and instinctively kept running away from it.

___

Cal struggled against the hand over his mouth that was preventing him from alerting Chloe. He twisted and writhed, but his strength lacked in comparison to whoever was dragging him away. As he got farther and farther away from Chloe, her terrified shrieks grew more and more distant. Cal fought even harder to get away, and began to thrash wildly. Pain shot through his body as he smashed his head on something hard beneath him, and his captor dropped him to the ground. Fighting for control of his consciousness, he sighed dazedly. Then the world went black and he saw no more.

Suddenly, everything slid into focus. Cal was in a garage, his hands bound to a wooden beam behind him. His mouth was gagged with a ragged oil-soaked cloth, by the revolting taste of it.

"Mmm!" he heard to his left. Cal turned, careful not to slam his already throbbing head into the beam, and saw Jimmy, bound in the same predicament he was in.

Cal tried to say, "Jimmy!" but all that came out was a garbled tangle of sounds.

He noticed that Jimmy's eyes were panicked. _He knows something I don't,_ thought Cal.

Jimmy started to talk. He repeated one word that sounded like "heavy."

_Heavy? Heaven, head, hurry…no. It can't be._ Cal's eyes widened as he realized just what was going on.

"Henry?" he tried to say, but it came out sounding like "airy."

Jimmy nodded furiously. Cal began to feel sick. The reason they'd come here in the first place was the reason they'd almost been killed multiple times. If Chloe saw him, she'd run right to him. He had to get out of there and warn her. He twisted and turned his hands, trying to untie whatever bound him.

Jimmy shook his head and mumbled something that Cal could only make out to be "It's a lock."

Cal swore helplessly. He really was going to die this time, and Chloe could walk straight into this trap.

**AN: I have to stop here, as much as I want to continue it. Enjoy, and PLEASE don't hesitate to leave reviews with comments, suggestions, and/or ideas! Next update **_**should**_** be this weekend.**


	6. Imminent

**AN: I couldn't go long without writing. I just want to give a shout-out to Finalhybrid and James. Thanks so much for faithfully reviewing so far! (Is anyone reading this really good at making YouTube vids? If so, PLEASE private message me.)**

Cal froze as the door of the garage rattled. _Please, God, don't let it be Chloe,_ he thought in a silent word of prayer. Jimmy looked almost relaxed and it was clear that he knew just a little more about the situation than Cal did. The door swung open, and in stepped a very disheveled-looking Henry Dunn. Cal narrowed his eyes and wished he wasn't tied up so he could lunge at that bastard.

Henry nodded to Cal, almost politely, and circled Jimmy.

"Is your mind made up?" he asked, starting to grin.

Jimmy let out a feral noise that fell just short of a snarl.

Henry laughed while Cal looked on in confusion.

"Here, let me get that for you." Henry pulled down the gag around Jimmy's mouth and stepped back as Jimmy almost snapped his teeth shut over his hand.

---

A house. There was actually a house up there. As Chloe tried to stifle the sobs that wouldn't stop coming, she crept towards the blue house on the cliff. She had no idea as to whether she should go into the house or keep an eye on it for a while. She walked around to the garage and heard a voice coming faintly from inside it. She quickly wiped her face on the sleeve of her jacket, looked around her, and walked slowly to the closest window. She pressed her back up against the wall and listened silently for a moment, trying to recognize the voice coming from within.

"You will sign this confession, or you can kiss your Abby goodbye."

Chloe blinked rapidly, trying to think. That voice was strikingly familiar, and it could only belong to one person on the island. Henry. Suddenly, everything started falling into place. Wakefield's accomplice had been with them the whole time, seeing their every move and overhearing their every plan.

Almost unwilling to believe that he was the killer, she turned and peeked inside the window, taking the risk that Henry could be facing it.

---

Cal could see that Jimmy wasn't even debating over whether to sign the confession. He'd already made up his mind, he was just trying to piss off Henry by keeping silent.

"Is that a no?" Henry asked rhetorically. As Henry stared Jimmy down, Cal saw a movement in the corner of his eye. His heart lurched when he saw Chloe looking through the window at him, a horrified expression on her beautiful face. Throwing a glance at Henry, who wasn't looking his way, he shook his head at Chloe, trying to convey a message of "get away from here."

---

"What was that?" Henry asked sharply, facing Cal.

Chloe ducked beneath the window. _Crap._ She heard the footsteps coming to the window, so she quickly laid down in the dirt and pressed herself against the bottom of the house, frozen in terror. When the sound of the steps retreated from the window, she crawled to the other side of the house where there were no telltale windows and hauled herself up. Running away wouldn't do her any good anymore, but she didn't know if Wakefield was still out in the woods or in the house or anywhere else. Rash decisions could only lead to certain death at this point, so Chloe stayed put, occasionally looking around the side of the house where the garage was to see if Henry had left yet.

---

"…it's pretty exciting stuff, huh?" Henry asked, almost finished with the story. "Cal, well, you got lucky. Anything you want to say? Get it out," he added, pulling down the rag from Cal's mouth.

"You…you bastard!" Cal yelled furiously.

"Funny you should say that," Henry said thoughtfully. "Trish said the same thing before I killed her."

"How the hell do you get off thinking that slaughtering people left and right will make Abby love you?" Cal spat.

"She'll never love you," Jimmy growled.

"Oh, really? You think so?" Henry said happily, albeit sarcastically.

"I'll sign your damn contract, on the condition that I can say good-bye to Abby. Take it or leave it." Jimmy held his head up and left it at that.

"Nice deal; you can see her within the hour," Henry acknowledged, sliding the gag back into place over Jimmy's mouth.

He walked back over to Cal and re-tied the rag around his mouth.

"And do I have plans for you…" he trailed off, leaving the garage.

---

Chloe heard a door slam and immediately whipped her head around the side of the garage to see what was going on. She saw Henry striding in the other direction back to the main house. She heard a second door close and was sure that Henry wasn't outside. She waited for probably half an hour before deciding she had to go in. She dashed around to the garage door and darted inside, locking the door behind her. Ignoring Jimmy, she ran over to Cal, slid down the rag, and kissed him furiously.

She pulled away, and murmured, "Cal, I was so scared."

"Chloe, you've got to get out of here. Henry's coming back."

"Not before I get _you_ out of here." She moved behind him, intending to untie him. "Damn! It's a lock!"

Chloe dug in her pockets, looking for anything she could use to pick it. She pulled out a hairpin, crossed her fingers, and worked it into the lock.

Jimmy watched as a tear ran down his cheek. Chloe and Cal were so obviously in love, and they might have a chance if they got out of there alive.

Chloe's face fell as the hairpin snapped inside of the lock. She swore loudly, muttering, "There's got to be a key around here somewhere." She began rummaging through the piles of junk stacked around the garage, frantically looking for a key.

"Darling?" Cal called. "Henry has the key."

Chloe gave up looking for it and went back to Cal. She kissed him again. "I love you," she whispered, her eyes flooded with tears.

"I love you, Chloe," Cal said as he kissed away her tears.

Suddenly, another door slammed, jarring them from their moment of peace. Chloe jumped and clumsily tied the rag back around Cal's mouth. She ran back to the door, unlocking it, and dove behind a stack of paint cans just as the door re-opened, with Henry dragging a worn-out looking Abby inside.

Jimmy's eyes lit up when his sight fell on Abby. She looked at him, hesitating for a moment, before going up to him, moving the gag and kissing him as Chloe had kissed Cal.

Cal glanced over at Chloe, who was crouched wide-eyed behind the paint cans. She was barely breathing, but only had eyes for Cal. They looked into each other's eyes for a moment before Henry decided Abby had kissed Jimmy for too long and ripped her away from him. Abby fell to the floor and scrambled to get up, but not before grabbing a screwdriver and stabbing it into Henry's foot. She used her moment of his pain to run out the door. Henry, grimacing, pulled the tool out of his foot, picked up a boarding knife, and ran after her.

Jimmy started to struggle against his locks.

"Right," Chloe said, coming out of hiding, "break the lock."

She unearthed a hammer from behind a quiver full of arrows and carried it over to where Jimmy stood. "Don't move your hands," she cautioned him as he moved his hands as far apart as they would go. Shaking, she raised the hammer and brought it down on the lock. Nothing happened except for the shock of the impact that sent up Chloe's thin arms. She hit the lock again, and it cracked sickeningly. She used her fingers to pull it apart, and before she could even step away, Jimmy was out the door.

"Your turn," she said to Cal, even more nervous than she'd been with Jimmy. She tried to ignore the heat that went coursing through her fingertips as she moved Cal's hands apart gently. She swung the hammer at the lock, hearing a feeble crack. Chloe hit the lock one more time and shattered it, freeing Cal.

"Cheap lock," Cal joked weakly, taking Chloe into his arms.

"Oh, shut up," she retorted as she buried her face into the crook of his neck.

"I just want to get out of here," she whispered.

Cal nodded. "Let's go."

---

Jimmy was gaining on Henry as they both tore through the woods after Abby; he was only a few yards behind. As he advanced on Henry a little more, he grabbed his shoulders from behind and slammed him to the ground. Jimmy caught up with Abby and they kept running. Henry was no longer behind them.

---

"Where are we going, Cal?" Chloe asked as they jogged through the trees, away from the house.

"I'm not too sure, actually," he replied. "Away until we find some help."

"Oh my God, Cal!" Chloe cried, pulling on his arm. "A boathouse!"

They ran to the boathouse and went inside, not once dropping hands until they saw the radio.

"Harper's Island, do you read me? Over." The radio crackled to life, and Chloe broke into a grin.

Cal picked up the controller and spoke into it. "This is Cal Vandeusen and Chloe Carter, over."

"We have officials on the island. Are you still in danger? Over."

"Yes, very much so, actually," Cal responded. "There's a-"

His words were cut short when the door behind them creaked open.

Chloe screamed. In the doorway stood Henry, with a boarding knife shining in his hands.

**AN: Not my best, but I wanted to get it up tonight. I'm tired and need some sleep; it's been a long day. I was going to stick with the original ending, sort of, but…that would have cut this story a lot shorter than I intend it to be. I'm trying to extend it a bit more. So, bear with me here! Reviews are wonderful and I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for reading.**


	7. Nowhere to Run

Henry stood in the doorway smiling, while Cal backed towards Chloe, placing himself between her and Henry.

"Harper's Island, come in. Our officials left the island; do you need them to return?"

Henry looked at Cal. "Tell them you're fine. Tell them you've got a boat and you're heading to the mainland." When Cal made no move towards the radio, Henry took a step forward, taunting Cal with the knife. Keeping Chloe behind him, Cal swept up the controller and held down the button. "We're fine. We've got a boat; we'll be at the mainland shortly. Do you have Wakefield?" He threw the question in before Henry could stop him.

"We found his body in the ruins of the fire. You should be safe now."

Henry took the knife and slashed the power cord to the radio. "You know," he said, "this is where it gets exciting. Two lovers cornered by a murderer…it'd make a good book, don't you think?"

Chloe slipped one shaky hand behind her back, her fingers searching for the window latch behind her. "Shouldn't you be chasing A-Abby?" she stuttered.

"Well, you see, I could have. But they have nowhere to go now, as there _is_ in fact evidence that she and Jimmy died in the church fire I set back there a few hours ago. No one will be looking for them, now that the officials are gone."

"How did you get evidence without a body?" Cal asked, being a medical examiner himself, as his curiosity got the better of him. He also sensed Chloe's movement behind him and wanted to stall Henry for as long as possible.

"Oh, Cal," Henry laughed. "You're a doctor, right? You should know that fabricating evidence is easier than it seems, when you do it right."

Chloe tried to wiggle the latch without moving the rest of her body, but it wouldn't budge. Her lower lip was trembling from a combination of frustration, cold, and utter fear. Giving up on the latch, she brushed her hand across the top of the boxes behind her, her fingers searching for anything that could be used in defense. Her fingers closed on something thin and cylindrical; it had to be an emergency flare.

"My dad almost had you two the first time, you know. I saw it with Abby. She was trying to shoot him, but I wouldn't let her. Told her she might miss and hit one of you. When you got away…well, it was a flaw in a flawless plan."

"Henry…" Cal said desperately, "you don't have to do this."

"No, I do have to do this. I really didn't think you would last this long, Cal. I have to commend you in that aspect."

Panicking when there was nothing else useful within reach, Chloe went back to tug on the latch. She gave her arm one more subtle jerk and the latch slid aside, finally. The window stayed closed, but all she had to do now was push on it to swing it open.

"Henry?" she tried. "Can we have one last moment?" She accentuated her plea with a sob that was entirely real.

Cal's heart felt like it was being slowly ripped out of his chest after hearing her, and he bit his lip, trying not to cry.

Henry sighed. "One moment…maybe it'll make this a little more dramatic." He stepped back and motioned for them to get on with it.

Chloe slowly embraced Cal, putting her head on the shoulder that was farthest from Henry, and whispered, "When I kiss you, get out the window. You first." Without him even knowing, she slipped the flare into his pants pocket.

Cal could barely hear her order, but he got it. She pulled out of his arms, looked into his gorgeous eyes, and kissed him softly. "I love you," she whispered, and as Henry started to advance on them, she pinched Cal. He sprang to the window, elbowed it, and as it swung open, he clambered out and reached a hand back inside for Chloe.

"No!" Henry roared, running at Chloe and brandishing the boarding knife.

As she swung her leg out the window, Henry aimed the knife at her back, just where her heart would have been, but she turned at the last moment, and the knife sunk into her right shoulder.

"Chloe!" Cal yelled as Chloe screamed in pure agony. The fingers of her right hand clenched around his wrist as she tried to pull herself off of the knife. Cal lunged forward and pulled her away, and Henry tried to stab her again but failed as Cal swept Chloe into his arms and ran.

"Dammit!" Henry exclaimed, pounding the wall in frustration, though he only hesitated for a moment before wiping the fresh blood off of the knife and launching himself out the window. He immediately knew which way to go when he saw the thin but noticeable blood trail leading back into the woods. He smiled and took off. It was only a matter of minutes before he could catch up with them again. Cal wasn't exactly strong, and with the extra 100 pounds that Chloe added, he couldn't be very fast either.

---

"Cal," Chloe whimpered, choking back a sob. Everything was blurring as Cal raced through the trees. The pain was excruciating, but she knew she was weighing Cal down.

"I can run," she whispered. "Put me down."

"No, darling, you're losing blood," Cal answered, and kept pushing on. Chloe really was beginning to feel lightheaded. Her breath was growing shorter and shorter.

"Stay with me, Chloe," Cal pleaded, shifting her so that she'd stop dripping blood to the ground.

"I love you," She said it so faintly that Cal barely heard her as her eyes closed and her head lolled against his shoulder.

"No! Chloe, wake up!" Cal said, not daring to stop. When he received no reply, he took a sharp left and kept running, for his sake and Chloe's. When he assured himself that he had veered far enough away from the blood trail and that they'd be safe for a few moments, he ducked into a steep ditch, set Chloe down and pressed his fingers to her neck, checking for a pulse. He wasn't aware that he'd stopped breathing until he felt a faint beat and let out a huge breath. Trying to act rapidly, he tore off Chloe's jacket and unbuttoned her shirt so he could roll her over and face the wound. When he saw the front of her shoulder, he saw that the tip of the blade had protruded all the way through her body; there was a bleeding wound there too, though it was nowhere near as serious as the one on the back of her shoulder. He threw off his own sweater and bit the collar of his shirt, chewing at it until he could start a rip. He tore off his right sleeve and wrapped it around the gash, tying it at the top of her shoulder.

Her skin was cold to the touch, and Cal knew that it was crucial for her to maintain as much body heat as she could, so he buttoned her shirt back up, put her jacket back on her, and took his sweater and wrapped it around her torso. Cal gathered her in his arms, and sat holding her, trying to transfer a little bit of his own warmth to her.

He looked down at her, and she looked so peaceful and angelic that he almost forgot that they were being pursued by a murderer. But when he snapped back to reality, all he could think was _How could this happen to me? _He let the tears of frustration, fear, and love for Chloe run down his face freely as he kissed her forehead.

---

The next thing she knew was pain. She didn't want to open her eyes, it would require too much effort, but she let out a groan.

"Chloe?" she heard an anxious voice say. "Chloe, love, wake up."

Her shoulder was throbbing, and she didn't want to open her eyes any more than she wanted to remain on that island, but she was soothed by Cal's voice and pulled her eyelids apart. She was looking up at his face, and she managed a half-hearted "Ow."

"He got you pretty good," Cal grimaced. "No major harm done, but…you've lost a _lot_ of blood."

Chloe fought to sit up in his arms. "I'm sorry; it was a horrible plan," she muttered.

"It was brilliant, Chloe. We got away."

"Yeah, but for how long? It's only a matter of time before he finds us again, and we have no means of defending ourselves."

Cal was silent, knowing she was right. "Did your shoulder hurt _this_ much?" Chloe questioned, having seen the bullet wound when she'd taken his shirt off in the Candlewick.

Cal nodded, earning a tiny smile from Chloe. Then, she gasped.

"What?!" Cal said, startled.

"I put a flare in your pocket, Cal! Back in the boathouse!" she exclaimed.

Cal reached a hand inside his pocket, and surely enough, there was a small red emergency flare waiting inside. "Genius," he breathed, kissing Chloe happily. He stood up, then bent down again to help Chloe stand.

"Can you walk?" he asked her.

She closed her eyes as a wave of dizziness passed, but stayed upright and nodded.

She grabbed his hand with her left hand because pain was still shooting up and down her right arm. Together, they set off to the beachy area that was somewhere to their right.

When they saw it, they didn't hesitate, but walked a little faster until they hit sand.

"Finally," Cal said, "no trees!"

Chloe smiled as Cal fiddled with the flare. "I've got to twist this," he mumbled, gesturing to a white cap on the flare. He twisted it around, tossed it onto the sand, and ran back with Chloe.

It started smoking, and suddenly, they heard a faint but clear cry.

"I DON'T WANT YOU!"

The flare went off with a loud _bang!, _ sending sparks everywhere as it flew into the sky and exploded like a brilliant gold firework. Chloe clutched Cal's arm as they watched it, knowing that it was their last hope for someone to see it.

---

Eight year-old Lauryn Turner was sitting on the sand in front of her house, building sandcastles with her twin sister Lyndsey. They were trying to have fun outside, despite the chill in the air, and as it got colder, they decided to return indoors.

As they stood up and brushed the sand off of their dresses, Lyndsey pointed a small finger at the island across the bay.

"Look, Lauryn," she cried. "Someone's shooting fireworks!"

Lauryn and Lyndsey watched as the distant sparks showered down and disappeared, waiting happily for more. When a few moments passed and no more fireworks presented themselves, the girls turned and ran through their backyard. They careened through the back door, discarding their jackets on the couch and kicking off their shoes.

"Hi, girls!" their mother, Elise, called from the kitchen. "Did you have fun?"

"Yeah, Mom," Lauryn answered. "We built a HUGE sandcastle!"

"Mom, there were fireworks on that island over there," Lyndsey added.

"What island? Harper's Island?" Elise asked sharply, putting the milk back into the refrigerator.

"Yeah," Lyndsey said.

"But there was just one! Then it stopped," Lauryn said, pouting.

Elise frowned. It had been on the news this morning that 29 people had been discovered dead on the island, all killed by John Wakefield. Supposedly, only 2 people escaped, a woman and her daughter that was about the twins' age.

"Are you sure you saw it?" she asked, picking up the phone.

Both girls nodded furiously, so Elise dialed a number and held the phone to her ear.

"Hello, please state your emergency."

"Hi, I'm Elise Turner. I live right across from Harper's Island, and my kids just came in saying they saw a single firework on the island just a few moments ago."

"Ma'am, that's highly unlikely. All the locals evacuated the island, and everyone else that had been there was found in the church. There were only two survivors."

Elise still felt uneasy. "Are you positive? That could have been a flare!"

"Well, we do have reports of a couple who called in on the radio, but there was in fact evidence to support their deaths found in the church. Ma'am, no one is on that island."

"I still think it's worth checking out," Elise replied.

The woman on the other end of the line said, "I'll report it and try and have someone sent back to the island as soon as I can. Thank you for your call."

Elise hung up the phone silently. She had a bad feeling about this.

**AN: It's midnight and I've been at this for long enough for today. I'm still trying to draw this out a little more, so…it's not easy. Review, please, if you will. The "how could this happen to me?" is from a Simple Plan song called "Untitled." Listen to it. I think it totally fits EVERYONE'S dying thoughts on Harper's. These are the lyrics of the chorus: **

How could this happen to me?  
I've made my mistakes  
got nowhere to run  
the night goes on  
as I'm fadin' away  
I'm sick of this life  
I just wanna scream  
How could this happen to me?

**It really does work well with the characters, especially Sully, in my opinion. It's such a bittersweet song. Thanks for listening to the short ramble, if you did! :)**


	8. A Breakable Thread

"I DON'T WANT YOU!" Abby screamed at Henry, her fury causing her hands to clench and shake violently. A darkness passed over his face before, out of nowhere, Jimmy barreled into him, sending them careening to the rocks below.

Abby froze; neither Jimmy or Henry were moving. She came back to her senses and clambered down the hillside, racing to Jimmy's side.

"Jimmy…Jimmy?" she whispered, cradling his head in her hands. "Are you okay?"

"No," Jimmy mumbled, trying to stand. Abby whirled around to see Henry, weaponless, lunge at Jimmy and send a powerful right hook into his temple. Abby, horrified, watched as Jimmy crumpled back to the ground, bleeding from a gash in his forehead.

"Come on," ordered Henry, gripping Abby's arm roughly and leading her back up the hill.

"No!" she screamed, trying to pull away to get back to Jimmy. "Jimmy!"

Henry jerked her away, breathing hard, and she cried helplessly. Guarded, quiet Abby was sobbing openly.

---

"Nothing," Chloe whispered, still fighting the brutal pain in her shoulder.

"I'm sure someone saw," Cal tried to reassure her that the flare had been effective.

"I think that was Abby back there."

"You think we should go check it out?" Cal asked, looking down.

"Yeah. We can't just leave her with him," Chloe answered.

"You're right, darling, let's go."

Cal and Chloe walked back into the woods, searching for Abby and Jimmy. They continued to call their names, going one way and then turning, looking in every ditch. Chloe glanced over a hill once, then did a double take when she saw someone on the rocks below.

"Cal, over here. It's Jimmy."

By the time Cal and Chloe reached him, Jimmy was dazed and trying to sit up.

"Abby," he groaned, "Henry got her."

Cal inspected the inch-long gash in Jimmy's forehead and deemed it non-critical before he pulled him to a standing position.

"We need a game plan," Jimmy suggested. "He only left me because he left his knife somewhere when he got to Abby."

"I don't think he's going to stop until we're all dead. We're the only ones that can stop him," Chloe said, staring blankly out at the ocean before them.

"You're right. He wants to get rid of us, and if he does, no one will ever know the truth," Cal decided.

"We need to save Abby."

"We're going to," Cal assured Jimmy, "but we can't go in blind. This is our last shot."

"I could get him out of that house," Chloe offered.

"Not alone, you can't," Cal said quickly.

"How about this?" Jimmy asked, and explained his thoughts.

"That could work," Cal thought out loud. "We need to find that knife, though. We need to be able to defend ourselves should something go wrong."

Before he even finished his statement, Chloe had disappeared over the hill. Cal yelled for her and started to follow her, but before he reached the top, Chloe emerged smiling, waving the boarding knife. "Found it."

"That's my girl," Cal said admiringly. He turned to Jimmy and waved. "Let's go."

---

The journey back to the house was long and silent, Cal and Chloe walking hand in hand with Jimmy right behind. Cal was trying to not think of all the ways this contrivance could fail, but the pessimistic thoughts were unavoidable. When they reached the house, Jimmy pointed out their positions.

"Ready?" he asked.

"No," Chloe said. "No, Cal, I don't think I can do this. We can't kill him. I've seen enough death to last a lifetime."

"Chloe. You can do this. It's going to get us out of here," Cal whispered to her, taking both of her hands in his own. He leaned forward and kissed her deeply. "Nothing can go wrong," he lied, trying to make her more comfortable with this.

Chloe nodded, biting her lip against the still-searing pain in her shoulder. She wondered, in the back of her mind, if it should still feel like it was burning through her whole body.

She handed Cal the boarding knife, the one that had almost killed him and the one that _had_ impaled her through her shoulder. Jimmy said, "I'll go in when the door slams." Cal nodded.

"Right." Jimmy headed around the side of the house, to where the front door was. He was sure it wouldn't be locked, but he had Abby's lock pick in his pocket just in case. He squatted against the wall and waited for the sound of Henry leaving out the side door.

Cal crouched in a bush, gripping the boarding knife. He could faintly hear Henry yelling at Abby in the second story of the house. He watched Chloe as she picked up a rather small rock, but it was big enough to do the job. She paced back and forth for a minute, turning the rock over in her hands. She stopped beside a tree, ready to throw the rock.

Chloe leaned against the tree for a moment, letting a sudden wave of nausea pass. She was shaking, but not just from anxiety and fear. Even under three layers, she was getting chills. She stood straight up, took a deep breath, and hurled the stone at the large glass window.

Cal watched as it sailed through the air and shattered the window loudly upon contact. Chloe took a step forward, stopped, and Cal gasped as her eyes rolled back in her head and she sank to the ground.

Cal hesitated. This wasn't part of the plan, was it? "Chloe!" he hissed, hearing footsteps pounding down the stairs inside the house. He couldn't run out now, so he tried to pull himself together and waited on the door to open.

He crouched lower in the bushes, his heart racing, as the door swung open slowly and Henry looked at Chloe. She was sprawled across the ground and her face was unnaturally pink. He hesitated before leaving the door open and ducking back inside and reemerging with a jackknife. He slammed the door behind him and walked toward Chloe.

_Now! _Cal told himself, and crept quietly out of the bushes and followed Henry. Henry was five feet from Chloe when Cal tapped him on the shoulder with the boarding knife. Henry whirled around, pointing the jackknife at Cal.

"Put it down, Cal," he warned.

Cal was about to reach out and stab Henry, but then he thought about how Chloe had said they couldn't kill him. For her sake, he lashed out at Henry with the handle of the boarding knife and hit him in the forehead with as much force as he could muster. Henry looked at Cal in surprise for a second before blacking out.

Cal immediately forgot about Henry and ran to Chloe's side, pressing the backside of his palm against her forehead. She was burning with fever, and Cal concluded that the wound in her back was most likely infected.

"Not good," he muttered. He was removing his belt to bind Henry's wrists when Jimmy and Abby burst through the door. "What happened?" Abby said, walking over to Cal's side.

"Fainted from fever. I think the wound's infected; I need to treat it immediately."

Jimmy took off his own belt and wrapped it around Henry's ankles, but not before kicking his limp arm and saying, "You bastard," under his breath.

Jimmy picked Henry up and slung him over his shoulder and Abby pocketed the jackknife that was laying on the ground. "Let's get her to the clinic," he said roughly, and Cal picked Chloe up, cradling her in his arms.

Her eyes fluttered open. "Cal?" she asked, weak and disoriented.

"Shh, baby, it's all right. I've got you," he whispered to her, starting to walk, and she passed out again, her head hanging on his shoulder. His own wound was throbbing dully as he carried her, and he was lost in thought as they trekked through the woods yet again.

"Oh, no," Abby said, pointing at a shape fifty feet ahead.

Jimmy gripped her hand, keeping her from running to see without him.

As they grew nearer, realization hit Cal like a deadweight. "Sully," he breathed, not fully believing what he saw. The body of his comrade lay on the ground as if simply discarded. Cal set Chloe down on the ground and knelt down next to Sully, biting his lip to hold back the tears. But as he stared into Sully's expressionless eyes, he let himself cry for a minute while Jimmy and Abby looked away.

Henry hadn't mentioned killing Sully when he'd told Jimmy and Cal the story, so it came as a jolting shock to find him dead. Cal recovered himself, trying not to think of how Sully saved his life, and gently closed Sully's eyes.

"We should bring him back, you know," Cal said, wiping his face on his sleeve. "So his family can give him a proper burial."

Jimmy felt Cal's pain and although uncomfortable with the idea of carrying a corpse and the person responsible for the death at the same time, he gently picked up Sully's body and carried him over his other shoulder, grunting with exertion.

Cal lifted Chloe back up again, and they made their way to the clinic, only arriving after a ninety-minute walk, during which Chloe never stirred.

The town was completely deserted; Jimmy was sure that the five of them were the only living souls around. Cal shoved the door to the clinic open and went into the examination room. He gently laid Chloe down on the exam table after shoving off the bloody sheets that remained there from when he'd worked on Sheriff Mills.

"Abby?" he called into the reception area, where she and Jimmy were waiting.

She pushed open the door a moment later. "Need something?" she asked softly.

"Can you get a rag and soak it with cold water, please? Then bring me some gauze from that cabinet over there."

Abby found a couple of cloths in a supply closet and ran one under the cold tap until it was soaked, then brought it to Cal. Cal pressed it to Chloe's forehead, trying to keep her cool under the heat of the fever.

Abby handed Cal a roll of gauze as he stripped off Chloe's tops. He gently rolled her over so she was lying face down so he look at her wound. As he had expected, the injury was swollen, red, and hot to the touch. It was barely bleeding, but oozing a yellowish liquid.

"Infected," Cal concluded, lifting a bottle of Betadine from the table behind him and soaking the gauze with it. He carefully cleaned out the deep wound and re-wrapped it with fresh gauze. He turned Chloe back over and tried to revive her.

He asked Abby to look for a certain antibiotic in the back cabinets while he ran the cold water cloth over Chloe's body, but he stopped when her lower lip twitched. Her eyes opened slowly, taking in her surroundings. As she came to, the fear gnawing at Cal's stomach slowly departed.

She was delirious with fever, though, so when Abby brought Cal the medicine he'd requested, he wasted no time in getting Chloe to take it. As soon as she'd taken it, though, she fainted again. Cal kissed her cheek and stood, patiently waiting for the fever to break. He knew he wouldn't' be leaving her side again. He was checking her temperature with a thermometer every few minutes. It had originally been 103.9°F when she'd first been given the medicine. Over the course of an hour, in which Abby constantly checked for updates, her fever spiked to 104.1°F, but slowly declined to 99.7°F.

As long as the infection didn't spread, she'd be okay now that the fever was almost gone. Cal stared out the window, taking in the peace of the moment. Jimmy startled him by busting through the door.

"He's starting to wake up," Jimmy told Cal.

"Do we want him awake?" Cal asked. "If not, I can tell you where to find a pretty strong sedative."

"I don't know, I think it's going to bother Abby even more to see him awake and alert. She's trying not to fall to pieces in there."

Cal told him what to look for in the back cabinets, not noticing that Chloe was awakening.

"You've got him?" she asked as Jimmy rummaged carelessly through the bottles of medications.

Cal was too tired to answer, but in his relief that she was awake and seemingly okay, he bent down and kissed her happily. He broke away, nodding. "We've got him."

"Hey, Chloe," Jimmy said, shaking out two pills from the bottle he'd found.

"Hi, Jim-" Chloe started to say, but when she realized she was in jeans and a bra, she quickly sat up and folded her arms over herself.

As Jimmy left the room laughing, she spoke up again.

"So what happened?"

"You threw the rock and fell. Henry heard and came down with a jackknife, but I jumped out behind him and got him before he got you," Cal supplied.

"Is he dead?" Chloe asked.

Cal shook his head. "I couldn't. I just knocked him out."

Chloe nodded, but still looked scared. "I think he's going to try to get away, no matter how we try and prevent it."

"We've got him tied and sedated, and Abby and Jimmy are keeping watch over him."

"Cal, I saw the sheet when Jimmy left. Who's under the sheet in there?" Chloe asked, desperately not wanting to know, but curiosity and fear got the better of her.

Cal sighed. "Sully. We found him on the way here, and…"

Chloe nodded quickly, at a loss for words. Then she swore, her eyes filling up with tears.

"It's okay, Chloe," murmured Cal, letting her head fall against his chest.

"No," she sobbed, "it's not okay. Nothing's okay! All of my friends are dead, and we almost were too!"

Cal stroked her hair, letting her cry it out.

"Cal, you're all I have left," she whispered.

---

Jimmy poked his head out of the front door of the clinic. He could have sworn he heard something. He looked towards the small dock that was the next best thing to the marina and saw a boat starting up.

"Guys, a boat!" he yelled back into the clinic.

Abby jumped up, leaving Henry bound on the floor. Chloe, in Cal's sweater, raced out, followed by Cal. Chloe was going purely on adrenaline; her strength was minimal and made even worse by blood loss and fever. They ran, screaming and yelling, towards the dock as the boat pulled out.

---

Officer Andrew Smith started the engine on his small motorboat, his search having proven fruitless. He'd been looking for Chloe Carter and Cal Vandeusen, the two that had radioed hours ago to say they'd had a boat and were heading to the mainland. The state troopers had never seen a boat coming their way, so they had sent Officer Smith to the island to do a quick check and see if he could find them.

He hadn't, after patrolling the town and woods for the better part of an hour, so he pulled his boat out of the dock. He couldn't wait to get away from the island. It gave him the creeps.

**AN: So, my longest chapter so far. It's not very dramatic, or very good, in my eyes, but I wasn't sure how to get this one done. I promise, the next chapter will be better. I hope. Review, please? :)**


	9. Falling All For Us

As Officer Smith sped away from the island, he heard an odd sound, but dismissed it and decided the boat's engine needed to have its oil changed.

---

Chloe's face was still shining with tears as she yelled and screamed at the boat speeding away in the distance, even though she knew it wasn't doing any good. She screamed even when the others gave up; she yelled until her throat felt like it had been ripped in two.

"C'mon, darling, there'll be another boat, and you shouldn't be on your feet too long," Cal said, circling an arm around Chloe's waist.

Chloe collapsed in his arms as a new round of sobs wracked her body violently, and Cal felt his heart break all over again at her misery. He held her close until she calmed down and the sobs waned to pitiful hiccups. Cal shot a glance at Jimmy and Abby, only to see Abby staring at the boat silently, watching it become little more than a blur on the horizon. Her arms were folded, and her head was leaning on Jimmy's shoulder. They both seemed to be rather lost in thought until Abby abruptly turned and started to leave the deserted dock. Cal and Chloe followed her and Jimmy, and together they walked back into town, back into the clinic.

As Jimmy walked back into the clinic, he felt his heart sink and whatever was left of his sense of safety vanished. The reception area was empty, save for Sully's sheet-covered body.

---

Shea's face was tear-stained as she looked down at the picture of her sister and Henry. It was a picture of a happy time, an outing they'd taken one day last year. The officer slid more and more photos towards her, the last of which was a photo of John Wakefield himself.

"It seems that he set the fire and…couldn't escape it himself," supplied Officer Jenkins.

Shea stared at the photo of the man who had ruined her life, and who had taken tens of others.

"Are you ready to finish the story now?" Jenkins asked softly.

Shea nodded slowly, taking it all in. She'd had to stop right before the ending because she was overcome by sadness and longing.

"There was a boat in a clearing," Shea informed the officer. "Sully…Christopher Sullivan helped Madison and me set it off. He only didn't come himself because he wanted to stay and help the others."

"And who was left on the island alive at that point in time?"

"Trish," Shea choked, "I think she was, but I don't know, I hadn't seen her. Sully, Henry, and Abby. I don't know about Jimmy, he might have been alive too."

"What about Chloe Carter and Cal Vandeusen?"

Shea shook her head. "I didn't know them very well at all, but the last time I'd seen Henry, he told me they'd been killed too."

"And you last saw him when?"

Shea tried to remember back to when it had been, but everything was a blur now and her concept of time was skewed. "I…I don't remember. I think sometime right before we left."

"Thank you, Mrs. Allen," Jenkins said, placing the pictures back in his folder. He went to reclaim the picture of Trish and Henry, but Shea took it first, giving the officer a pleading glance.

Madison re-entered the room, sipping some orange juice out of a small plastic cup.

"Mom, where are Trish and Henry?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"They…died in the church fire, honey."

Madison seemed almost unperturbed for a moment before she shook her head violently. "No they didn't."

Jenkins looked at the little girl sadly. "She'll accept it eventually, Mrs. Allen," he said, then left the room.

"Madison, honey, they're gone," Shea said quietly.

"Trish died," Madison said, seeming a little more sad now, "but not in the fire."

"What are you talking about? Please, this isn't the time for games."

"It's not a game, Mom. I just know that John Wakefield didn't kill her."

"Then who did?"

Madison shrugged, sitting down on the thin carpet. "Not John Wakefield."

---

"How could we have been so utterly stupid?" Cal exclaimed, while Chloe sat down in an armchair, feeling faint again. Even heavy-duty painkillers had done little for the burning in her shoulder, and she winced as the tender skin bumped into the side of the chair.

Jimmy swore loudly, but Abby hardly seemed to notice. She was starting emptily at the spot Henry had previously been resting. All that was left were the belts lying coiled on the floor. She didn't know what to think now. She'd been through so much in her lifetime, so much pain, but it was all nothing compared to right now in this one week. Her best friend, the only one that had been there for her since before she could remember, was the one behind it all. Would Wakefield have come back if it weren't for Henry?

"I swear to God I'll swim back if it means getting the hell away from here," she said to no one in particular.

"This could be an ambush," Cal said, suddenly alarmed. "We need to get out of this building before someone traps us inside."

Jimmy tried the handle on a closet door and found it locked. He rolled his eyes and kicked the door down so he could see what was inside.

He pulled out two small handguns and handed one to Cal. "Old Doc always kept a couple back there, never used them. They're fully loaded," he warned Cal," so be careful."

Cal turned to Chloe, offering her his hand. She took it, not fully wanting to leave the clinic, but definitely not willing to stay behind and remain a sitting duck. As she stood up, Jimmy barked hasty instructions: "Keep an eye out, especially when we leave; he could be anywhere. If anything should go wrong," he turned to Abby and Chloe after saying this, "take the guns and kill him."

---

In the mere seconds since she'd taken his hand, Chloe's mind was charged with memories of the past year. Meeting Cal, their first date, the first time he'd stayed over at her apartment, even all the things he hadn't wanted to do…her own impetuous nature brought out the more adventurous side of calm, reserved Cal. All the idiotic things she'd done, Cal had been there for her. She'd constantly tested his feelings for her by provoking other men to come onto her, and he'd given every one a silent glare that was more than enough to send them running.

Right now, in this moment, Chloe's one desire was to run with Cal, run far away from this island and never look back. The fear of not knowing where their fates lied was slowly breaking her, and she already knew she'd never be the same.

"Ready?" Cal asked her, always placing her needs before those of anyone else's.

Chloe nodded, feeling a pang shoot through her heart. No, she wasn't ready to hunt down a madman. She'd never be ready to put Cal's life, or hers, for that matter, in danger once again. Nothing had prepared her for this, not one person had ever told her she could be confronted with this kind of situation. Even though it was because things like this didn't ever happen to people. She'd never even seen anything close to this brutal in the worst of horror movies. She took a deep breath and pulled herself together: just another step until she reached the door.

Abby followed Jimmy, and Cal was followed by Chloe out the door. As soon as they were out in the open again, they looked around, high and low, before continuing down the street.

---

Henry waited outside the back door of the clinic until he was sure they had left it again. The sedatives that Jimmy had force-fed him were only too-easy to vomit up once he un-bound himself, so he was clear-headed and ready to roll again. Too many flaws had already prevented themselves, he knew that, but he would press on. The woman he loved was so close to being his, and he wasn't going to stop at anything.

---

Officer Jenkins laid the file down on the desk of Charlotte Dale, Seattle's number-one detective.

"She didn't have too much information," Jenkins commented. "She didn't know many of the people to begin with, and she left the island after Wakefield escaped the jail, with the aid of Christopher Sullivan."

"That leaves even more unaccounted for," Dale said briskly, "Sullivan, Vandeusen, and Carter."

"Don't forget Malcolm Ross, Joel Booth, and Ben Wellington," Jenkins added.

Dale sighed in frustration. "No one seems to have a clue as to where these people are."

"Ms. Allen says that Henry Dunn claimed to have seen Carter and Vandeusen die, but she had no more information to offer us besides the fact that Ben Wellington never arrived on board the _Tarapunga_ at the beginning of the week."

"The wedding to die for," Dale sighed. "I don't know about you," she said to Jenkins, looking sadly at the photos of the young, happy people, "but I'm not too comfortable with having six people missing. Chances are, they're dead too, but we should do our best to recover the bodies should they have family waiting."

She took out the list of the names of all of the wedding guests and friends, and with a red pen, made little dashes by the following names, indicating that there was evidence supporting their deaths: Abby Mills, Henry Dunn, Patricia Wellington, Jimmy Mance, Charlie Mills, Thomas Wellington, JD Dunn, Marty Dunn, Richard Allen, Katherine Wellington, Danny Brooks, Lucy Daramour, Beth Barrington, Shane Pierce, Kelly Seaver, Nikki Bolton, and Maggie Krell. All found in the remains of the fire, save for Seaver and Thomas Wellington, though Mrs. Allen had said that she was overly sure many didn't die in the fire. Lucy Daramour's remains had seemed more charred than others' upon minimal inspection, and Shea did say that Lucy had been missing after day 2 of the wedding week.

Shea told them Maggie Krell had been hanged over the local bar, the Cannery, and Nikki Bolton had died there as well. Supposedly, Danny Brooks had found Beth Barrington's body in two pieces down in the tunnels below.

Wakefield had died in his own fire, so they had no one to investigate and question. They basically had next to nothing to go on.

"We have no one to send to the island," Jenkins stated. "They all went out of state to assist with the bridge collapse and shouldn't be back until tomorrow or the next day."

"It's no use sending two or three alone. When can we have a team ready?"

"Two days at the latest."

---

The town seemed deserted enough. Jimmy decided he had already skipped town, in a sense, because if he had been there, he wouldn't have resisted the chance to get rid of them all and steal Abby away. Each of the four of them had already narrowly escaped death at least once, and they knew what they were up against. The only thing on Jimmy's mind that was even slightly optimistic was the fact that Wakefield was dead. Nothing else seemed to be happening in their favor.

Deciding the town wasn't worth staying in, they walked, alert and more cautious than ever, down a dirt path, trying their luck. All that was at the end of the path was a very rocky ledge, with even more threatening rocks at the bottom.

"Nothing," Cal sighed. "I want to find him before he finds us, eliminate the threat."

"He could be absolutely anywhere," Abby exclaimed angrily. "He could be on a freaking boat to the mainland by now!"

"There's too much at stake for him to do that, Abby," Jimmy said, almost in a soothing tone.

"He is here," Chloe said tiredly, glancing nervously at the rocks fifteen feet below them.

"We just…don't know where," Cal commented, keeping his gun ready. He shivered continuously, only wearing one shirt over an undershirt, and the top shirt had its sleeve torn off from where he'd originally dressed Chloe's wound.

"We could try the church," Abby suggested. "Even if it is pretty much gone."

When they set off once again, the lightheadedness kicked in again, but Chloe couldn't complain and slow them down any longer. A couple miles into the walk, though, Chloe couldn't take it. She let go of Cal's hand, doubled over and promptly vomited into the grass. Her stomach painfully contracted as she retched, and Cal's hand was immediately around her, supporting her while Jimmy stood guard with Abby.

Chloe squeezed her eyes shut, breathing hard.

"It's the infection causing the nausea. It might stop when the antibiotics start to kick in," Cal said quietly. "Are you okay, darling?"

"No," she breathed, standing back up, "but I'll make it."

"Are you sure?" Cal looked almost ready to drop everything to help her out.

Chloe nodded; she felt almost better now, if only the lightheaded feeling would go away. Every step was painful through the last mile or so, but Cal was by her side, trying to aid her as best he could.

"Oh, my God," Abby said softly upon seeing the church. It was almost completely burned down, the walls remaining were blackened and only a few feet high. The remnants of pews had been hauled out into a pile of rubble on the lawn. The building had obviously been searched, and Cal would bet almost anything that Henry had put all of the bodies inside the church and burned it down.

"How did we miss them?" Chloe asked, confused as to why they hadn't seen anyone at all going to the church.

"It was probably while we were in the house," Jimmy said, looking around for any sign of Henry or anyone else. The area seemed as deserted as the town did.

The sound of their breathing was all that could be heard until suddenly, a gun went off somewhere behind them.

"Run!" Cal yelled, and they sprinted in the way they'd come as bullets whizzed through the air around them. They'd gotten a few hundred feet before Jimmy was shot in his free hand. He yelled out in pain, but he kept running. Cal's lungs were burning from lack of air, but he knew Chloe must be much worse off. He glanced over at her, her legs pumping furiously, and noticed her face was still pale, even as she ran. That was definitely not good.

There was a pause, and Cal heard a last shot explode from a gun, and Chloe fell to the ground with a small cry.

**AN: I hope that was dramatic enough for you! Hmmm…I'm still trying to make this as long as I can, but I don't know that I can hold off the conclusion much longer. Thanks for all the reviews; I really appreciate them! Next update in the next couple of days!**


	10. At First

"CHLOE!" Cal yelled, firing shots blindly as he ran back to her side and hastily sweeping her into his arms and taking off again. The opposing gunshots had ceased, but that made no difference as Cal tried to run faster; he needed to get somewhere safe and see if Chloe was shot or purely unconscious. He could no longer see Abby or Jimmy as he pushed on, and could only assume they'd gotten away safely, so he pushed on, his legs burning and his lungs craving for sweet air.

The only thing Cal knew for sure was that Chloe's eyes were closed, and she hadn't made a sound since she'd hit the ground. He didn't see any blood, but then again, he hadn't been able to turn her over, either. If she'd been hit…the blood already gone would make it impossible for her to survive for longer than minutes, so Cal ran until he was absolutely positive that he hadn't been followed. Gasping for air, he came to a halt and turned Chloe over, and saw nothing that he shouldn't already see.

He was deeply relieved that she hadn't been hit by a bullet, but all of this fainting was going to take its toll. Being a doctor, he knew Chloe needed a blood transfusion, but there was no time now, nor had there been at the clinic. Her blood wasn't going to replenish fast enough, and if they kept up at the current pace for much longer, her body would shut down. She needed stronger antibiotics than what he'd been able to find; Cal could already tell her fever was slowly climbing again, and the wound in her shoulder would only get nastier. And to top it all off, she hadn't eaten or had much to drink in days.

Shifting his grip on Chloe, Cal looked around. Trees were everywhere, and the forest was unusually quiet, as if it too had been evacuated. It was silent except for the sounds of his ragged gasping and Chloe's strained breathing. Cal had never been very religious, but he held Chloe close as he closed his eyes and prayed for a miracle. It was all he could hope for.

---

This was going almost better than he'd expected; he was almost sure he'd killed Chloe, and even though he'd run out of bullets, he knew it'd be almost too easy to take out the Englishman once he found him. He knew Abby and Jimmy were headed back the way they had come. _Abby._ All for her, yet she was doing everything to prevent it.

_Why'd you have to go away from home, Abby?_

This was shaping up nicely: if everything went as it should, only a few hours would be needed for it to be finished. He was craving for this disaster, and would stop at absolutely nothing to finish it.

---

"Where are Cal and Chloe?" panted Abby, starting to slow down.

Jimmy stifled a groan. They'd been lost? _Crap. _ He held his wounded hand in his shirt, trying to distract himself from the fact that it hurt like hell. He'd never been shot before, and the pain was pretty damn excruciating. "Maybe we should go to the Cliffside," he suggested, "maybe they'll find us."

Abby felt almost guilty as she watched Jimmy struggle with the pain. She was bruised and scratched all over, but she was the only one that hadn't physically suffered yet. The emotional trauma she was trying to fend off was persistent; her whole world, the world that she'd struggled to rebuild for herself, had come crashing down in a matter of days. And even though Wakefield was truly dead now, Henry was out there somewhere, and he only wanted her. Henry, her _best_ friend, her half-brother.

There was no single word to describe how she felt right now, as two more of her friends could have just very well fallen victim to Henry.

Henry.

---

Cal was trying to keep his sense of direction as he stumbled through the bitter cold of the woods, as hard as it was not to focus on Chloe. He wanted to take it all away, take away her suffering, keep her safe. So far, he thought he'd been doing a wretched job of it. He couldn't pretend, no matter how much he wanted to, that Chloe wasn't literally dying in his arms, that he wasn't emotionally crumbling, that they were fine, because nothing was okay. If Chloe didn't make it, he would die himself. He honestly couldn't live without her, and this twisted week had proved it. But he wasn't going to let her die. If it was the last thing he'd ever do, he would do anything and everything to protect her.

There was nowhere to go, but Cal knew he had to go somewhere. He couldn't return to the town yet; it would be the first place Henry would look. Trying to make the decision logical, he figured that Abby and Jimmy would head to the cliffs. It was an open place where almost everything could be seen, and it was close to the water too.

As he carried Chloe, still dealing with the trepidation, he was alone with his thoughts for the first time in days. He remembered the events of the last few days, and realized he'd truly been playing the part of hero for the first time in his life when he rescued Chloe from the storm drain near the river. Cal hadn't expected to get off of that bridge alive, though. He'd taken a valiant last stand, fully knowing that only sacrificing himself would allow Chloe to escape. But she didn't until Cal barely overthrew Wakefield. He couldn't help but wonder what she would have done if Wakefield had claimed him.

"Cal?" carried a nervous question from fifty yards ahead of him, jarring him from his contemplations.

It was Abby, with Jimmy, standing at the Cliffside waving her arm in the air frantically. Cal kept jogging towards them, his lungs burning. As he slowed down to a stop and laid Chloe down, every muscle in his body ached and pleaded for a rest that he could not give.

"She blacked out again while she was running away."

Cal squatted down next to Chloe and stroked her forehead, willing her to wake up. The fever was slowly returning since she'd thrown up the medicine.

"Chloe's grown up so much since I last saw her," Abby commented quietly, hugging her own arms to her sides.

"What do you mean?" Cal looked up at the woman he'd originally made somewhat of an "alliance" with when they'd first arrived on the island.

"I hadn't seen her since we both graduated," Abby started, and Cal knew the story from all of the gossip floating around; it had been 7 years.

"Chloe was always the one that could have any guy she wanted. She was completely irrational, though, but everyone liked her, you know?"

Jimmy listened halfheartedly, clutching his bloody hand in his t-shirt.

"I remember in freshman year, she used to go on strike against teachers when she didn't like what they had to say," said Abby, almost smiling. "By the time she realized how pointless it was, half the school had joined her and shunned the teachers she didn't like."

"Just like her," Cal thought out loud, his heart full of nothing but love.

"Hell, she made us go on strike," Jimmy said quirkily, remembering when he and Abby had decided to join the crowd.

"She used to be really close to Trish when they were fifteen or so. They'd double date all the time, and they didn't have a care in the world. They were just the envy of everyone. Chloe and Trish…they had guys and girls alike ogling after them wherever they went, and they knew it. Chloe was more of a flirt. She never really had a steady boyfriend." Abby had been about to say "like Henry and Trish," but caught herself. Now wasn't the time for that.

"Chloe was so nice, and the life of any party. Her life was about guys and partying, for the most part. She kept her grades up, though."

Cal didn't really see where Abby was going with this, other than to reminisce of happier times.

"She always wanted to get the most out of her life, and she challenged anyone who got in her way. She was incredibly immature a lot of the time. But now, seven years later, she seems so much older. She's grown up, and she with you seems perfect. You'll be good for her." Abby paused, then asked, "How long have you two been together?"

"A year and a month." The answer came effortlessly. It had been last October when they'd first started dating.

Abby nodded. "You're the one," she decided.

Her eyes filled with tears. "Love is a funny thing," she choked out before Jimmy swept her into his arms and let her cry into his shoulder.

_It certainly is_, Cal thought, gazing at Chloe's angelic face that was circled by her blond hair splayed on the ground. He'd always been a thinker, and every one of his girlfriends had been more on the outwardly smart side of life. When he'd first met Chloe, he remembered how he'd stopped to talk to her, only to have her brush him off because she was late for a date. He hadn't even gotten her name until a few weeks later, but at the time, had been convinced that they'd never work out.

As Cal straightened back up, the tense muscles in his thighs screamed in protest, painfully cramping up again. "Let me have a look at your hand," he ordered Jimmy, who was consoling Abby.

Abby stepped away, wiping her face on her sleeve and sitting down by Chloe as Cal did his best to use what was left of his one shirt sleeve to wipe the blood and dirt from Jimmy's hand. Nothing he wore was too clean anymore; his shirt was streaked with dirt and sweat, and his pants were soaked and muddy. Chloe's clothes hadn't fared much better, and her face was streaked and smeared with dirt mixed with dried tears.

He used his teeth again to tear off another strip of fabric to bind Jimmy's hand up with.

"What's up, Doc?" Jimmy cracked, giving Cal a slight smile to cover up the pain.

Cal tied a knot in the fabric and said, "Nothing too major, but it probably hit a few nerves. They could regenerate themselves, but they might not. Are there any places you can't feel?"

Jimmy balled up his hand into a fist and then flexed it out again, noticing that his middle finger and his ring finger were much stiffer than the others. He held them up to Cal silently.

"If you can move them even a little bit, they ought to be okay in the long run. Just do your best to keep it fairly clean," Cal added.

"Thanks," Jimmy offered, looking around them to survey the surroundings. He could just barely see to the mainland under all of the fog, and the water was calm and rippling around the rocks below them.

"We need to keep an eye out," Jimmy said, serious again. "If he had a gun, he probably has more. All it takes is a shot and he wins."

Cal could only acknowledge it to be true, so he picked up Chloe again so she wouldn't be on the ground if he needed to run again. With one hand, he withdrew his gun from his pocket. He ought to have a few shots left, even after using most of them blindly. He kept it trained towards the trees in front of him, and stood side-by-side with Jimmy and Abby. Jimmy also had his gun out, though pointed in the other direction. They waited.

Cal's left arm was going numb under Chloe's weight when they heard a twig snap in the woods about a hundred yards in front of them. Cal's arm tensed under Chloe, adjusting his grip on her, and Jimmy was subconsciously placing himself in front of Abby.

They stared out in the direction the noise had come from, and heard it again.

And again.

Cal turned to the side just in time to see Henry running at him from his right, but he didn't have time to shift the aim of his gun or cry out before Henry tackled the four, sending them all careening over the edge of the rocky cliff.

---

Shea sat curled up in a ball on her hotel bed. She had her knees drawn to her chest, and her chin was resting on the tops of her knees. The police were holding them there for a few more days until they could be used to identify remains found, if any. They couldn't send anyone back to the island for another day or so, so Shea and her daughter were stuck in the dismal room, alone.

Madison was sitting on the windowsill, staring out into the fog that was unusual for late afternoon. She thought it looked like it was going to rain, and that could explain why no one was at the harbor. No one was out walking the streets either; they were almost completely deserted.

"One by one," she sang softly to herself, gazing out at the gray water and equally dingy-looking sky.

"Stop that song!" Shea snapped.

Madison closed her mouth and hesitated, feeling something wash over her. She went into a trance-like state, and saw people falling. There were four-no, five- of them. Madison was trying to make out who they were when it ended, and she again saw the sea. She frowned in confusion. What had she just seen? She hadn't been able to see the faces of the people clearly, but she could tell they were falling onto rocks. Madison's innocent mind didn't fully understand what was happening, but her mind immediately wandered to the island.

"Mommy?" she tried cautiously. Her mother had barely spoken a word all day, and hadn't stopped to eat anything either.

Shea sighed. "Not now, Madison," she said quietly, closing her eyes.

Madison gave up and went back to window-gazing. She wouldn't press about the vision. No one listened to her anyway.

---

**AN: Sorry it took me so long, it's been a busy week, no? I only put the little part about Chloe in as a sort of "filler" to pass the time a little bit. The next chapter ought to be a little better, and maybe happier. Key word there being "maybe." Have a good weekend, and hopefully I'll be able to update by Sunday.**


	11. Not Once

The fall was short. Cal barely had time to scream before he slammed into the ground below. He felt a sharp crack and an explosion of pain as he smashed his head on a rock, then his arms went causing Chloe to roll to the ground softly beside him.

He had hit the ground and felt the impact, _not_ Chloe. And that was all that mattered. The pain was starting to numb him.

The world faded to black.

---

Abby groaned. Everything hurt, and she didn't want to move. Her eyes only opened when she realized where she was. Chloe was lying next to Cal, who was motionlessly sprawled on the ground, his head against a sharp rock. Jimmy didn't look like he was in any better shape; there was blood on his face, on his arms, on his hands.

"Jimmy," she whispered, taking his face in her hands. "Are you okay?"

Jimmy opened his eyes, squinting painfully. "No," he managed to say before letting his head fall back to the ground.

---

Ironically enough, Chloe was the next to come to. She felt barely alive as she opened her eyes, and she couldn't even sit up. She heard Abby's voice a few feet away. "Cal?" she whispered, trying to bring her head up. She was at the bottom of a cliff, only a couple of yards away from the ocean. She saw Cal, lying still beside her. She painfully rolled onto her stomach, her heart in her throat, and saw the slight rise and fall of Cal's chest.

She let out a breath before she started to feel totally unstable again, blinking rapidly and breathing in shallow gasps. Chloe was in an unbearable amount of physical and emotional pain, and she was absolutely freezing. Chills racked her body as she glanced around and saw Abby fretting over Jimmy.

Suddenly, a figure rose up behind Abby, and before Chloe could utter a cry of warning, Henry spoke.

"Abby," he whispered.

Chloe watched helplessly as Abby grabbed a boarding knife off the ground beside her- where had it come from?- and turned, plunging it into Henry's stomach.

Abby, Henry, Jimmy, and Chloe let out a collective gasp as Henry fell to his knees.

"Abby…"

Abby fell to her own knees with Henry, frozen in horror.

"I love you," Henry said to Abby, crumpling to the ground.

Abby stared at Henry's lifeless body lying on the ground and started hyperventilating. Jimmy was at a loss for words, and Chloe was too busy fighting for control of her conscious state to do anything. Abby laid down, put her head on Jimmy's chest, and started to sob inconsolably.

Chloe laid her own head on Cal's chest, her energy completely gone. Every inch of her body was hurting, and she knew she was going to die. She was dehydrated, deprived of food, and to top it all off, the infection in her shoulder was spreading. _I love you, Cal,_ she thought as the blackness pulled her under once again.

---

"Officer Dale?" Jenkins addressed the woman, entering her office as dusk began to fall.

"What is it, Jenkins?" she snapped irritably. Dale hadn't been home to her kids for the last 2 days and was sleep-deprived, having been reviewing the Harper's Island files over and over again.

"I just thought you should go home, get some rest," the tall male suggested. "You can't piece it all together yet."

Dale flipped the thick folder shut and leaned back in her chair. "I know," she muttered, "but something's wrong here!"

"And we may never know what it is, but we have all the time in the world to figure it out."

Dale sighed and grabbed her jacket, standing up.

"I brought you some good news," Jenkins added. "We have a team ready to be sent to the island for a complete search in the morning."

"Good," Dale commented, grabbing her car keys. We should at least try recovering the rest of the bodies to have something to send home to the families."

She walked out the door with Jenkins. "Is it possible for me to go with the team tomorrow?" she questioned, a deep curiosity of the island dwelling inside her.

"Of course," he confirmed. "We leave at eight."

---

Darkness was setting in, and Abby had still not recovered. She was sitting where the ground met the cliff with her knees drawn to her chest, staring as Jimmy covered Henry's body with rocks. They had long since dragged Chloe and Cal to the little corner where Abby was sitting. Abby had managed to stop the bleeding in the back of Cal's head, but he remained unconscious. Chloe was getting worse; she would occasionally open her eyes and deliriously call for Cal before shuddering back into stillness.

Abby felt absolutely hopeless. The temperature was dropping by the minute, and there was no escape from the rocky land. The cliff was too steep to climb, and Jimmy was in worse shape than he was letting on. They were both hungry and desperately thirsty, but they knew better than to drink the sea water. She suspected that Jimmy had a concussion of some sort from the way he was holding his head, and she couldn't deny that she probably had one too. Her head was pounding, aching for comfort and sleep.

As soon as Jimmy finished, he walked over to Abby and sat down beside her silently. They sat together, huddling for body warmth, until Cal started to stir.

He opened his eyes confusedly, trying to adjust them to the darkness before sitting up. When he managed to pull himself up, he saw Abby and Jimmy solemnly looking at him. He jumped, remembering how he'd passed out in the first place.

"Where's-" he started, but Jimmy cut him off.

"Dead," Jimmy said simply.

Cal turned away from Abby's troubled look and turned to Chloe. She was still, and Cal could only barely tell that she was breathing. Cal shook his head quickly and drew her into his arms, holding her closely. She was so vulnerable, and Cal could compare the emotional pain he was feeling to that of when he'd been shot. He threw a helpless glance to Abby and Jimmy, but turned away as he felt his eyes sting with tears.

_Not Chloe. Not my Chloe. _He grasped one of her cold hands in his and pressed her head to his chest.

And the night went on, with Abby and Jimmy silently holding each other, and with Cal crying quietly over Chloe.

It wasn't until dawn that Chloe opened her eyes, looking confused and scared.

"Chloe? Chloe, darling, can you hear me?" Cal asked anxiously, sitting her up in his arms. Before she could answer_, _though, her eyes rolled back in her head and she started to seize.

Cal started to panic, holding her arms as she gasped and attempted to flail them about. Abby and Jimmy crawled to his side and held her legs down, unsure of what else to do as Cal dug a finger into her mouth, checking for anything that could be blocking her windpipe. He found nothing and commenced to simply holding her. His angry, bitter tears flowed freely as he acknowledged the fact that medical training was almost useless when you were stranded.

After what seemed like an eternity, Chloe stopped moving. Cal was relieved, and loosened his grip on her arms until he realized she'd stopped breathing, too.

---

At 7:30 in the morning, the team of 12 state troopers plus Jenkins and Dale were assembling around the boat that was to take them to Harper's Island. They had packed and prepared for an all-day outing. It would be tedious work, searching the entirety of the island, but Dale felt it had to be done. She wouldn't be at peace until she could have some closure on the case. The day was just as grey and dreary as the previous day had been, and no one's spirits were jovial. The cold was bitter and stung everyone's faces in the wind, but they trudged onto the boat anyway and left the mainland. It was just becoming light enough outside to see, and the ominous island loomed in the distance, almost giving off a foreboding vibe.

Upon reaching the island, they again saw the destroyed marina, yet another mystery that remained unsolved. Jenkins gathered a box and a stack of marked maps as Dale got everyone's attention.

"We're in pairs. Middleton and Shipe, Zhang and Grantham, Bradley and Hanson, Wilmore and Thompson, Lopez and Woods, Randall and Harvey." Jenkins addressed the group and tossed a walkie-talkie to each pair.

"If you find _anything_," Dale added, "radio us immediately."

As he handed out the maps, Jenkins told everyone to meet back at the boat at 6. They left the craft and walked down what was left of the marina two by two.

"Let's go, Charlotte," Jenkins addressed her by her first name, handing her their walkie-talkie. He helped her step off of the boat, and they walked on to the island, feeling haunted at the eerie silence.

"Which way?" she questioned.

Jenkins studied the map for a moment and pointed to the right. "We take the northeast corner, right out of the town."

They trudged into the woods, surveying everything. They checked every ditch, every tree, but found nothing. They had been in the woods for a grand total of thirty minutes when their walkie-talkie buzzed to life.

"Bradley and Hanson to Jenkins, over."

"What's the deal?" Jenkins barked into the radio, anxious for news.

"We found a body in the town clinic," Bradley stated.

Dale shuddered, taking the walkie-talkie from Jenkins. "Any idea who it is?" she asked.

"It's Christopher Sullivan, over." Each team had been supplied with photos of every missing person, should any remains found be identifiable.

"Stay put," Dale ordered. "We're on our way. Over."

---

"Chloe!" Cal cried, laying her down to check for a pulse. He couldn't detect even the slightest rhythm, so he frantically started CPR, pushing down on her chest repeatedly, only pausing to administer mouth to mouth. "Chloe!" he screamed, even louder than before.

Abby turned away. She couldn't watch anyone else die.

---

**AN: So, I was actually going to put more on this so it wasn't so desperately short. But, I want to extend the suspense (and the length of the story) a little bit more, and so I end here tonight. Next update very soon, I almost-promise. **


	12. Will

Dale stopped walking abruptly. "Did you hear that?"

Jenkins shook his head, saying "Hear what?"

"Someone screamed," she whispered, and broke into a run in the direction of the cry. Jenkins was quick to follow, weaving in and out of the trees towards the unpredictable. As they ran, the cries grew louder and louder, until they could distinguish what was being yelled.

"Chloe Carter," Dale breathed, willing herself to go faster.

They could see the cliffside a couple hundred yards ahead, and the screams grew more panicked as they carried. Jenkins and Dale kept running, knowing lives were at stake.

---

Cal desperately continued CPR, but it didn't appear to be doing any good.

"Cal," Abby said quietly, in a tight voice.

"No, Abby!" he shouted, blowing air from his lungs into Chloe's.

Jimmy couldn't watch it anymore, and he turned and threw up, feeling dizzy and with a splitting headache. Abby took no notice yet. She was trying to stop Cal. It was useless.

Cal kept on with the chest compressions, but only for a few more moments. When Chloe's pulse didn't return, he collapsed over her, sobbing loudly, "No…Chloe! Not my Chloe…no!"

Abby saw movement above them and jerked her head up. Gasping, she met the startled gazes of what seemed to be two state troopers. "Oh my God," she breathed, staring at them.

---

Dale didn't hesitate at all to start climbing down the cliff upon seeing the four people down on the rocks. She handed Jenkins the walkie-talkie and started climbing down, effortlessly keeping her grip on the slick rocks.

"Jenkins to everyone," Jenkins said into the walkie-talkie, "we need you at the northeast cliffside NOW!" He put the controller in his pocket and started his own climb down the rocks.

---

Chloe felt a weight over her, and heard a strangled-sounding noise. _Fight, Chloe,_ she told herself. She could feel herself fading away for good, and if she could only pull in the oxygen. Such a simple task, but it would be so painful. She couldn't move, she couldn't live until she did. Cal's breathing for her had done no good.

_Damn it, Chloe, fight! _ She screamed at herself with what little thought she had left. With her last chance slipping away, she pulled one breath in. Then another. And another as she started coughing and spluttering, feeling herself return.

---

Dale jumped to the ground just in time to see the blond girl on the ground start coughing and the blond man beside her say, "Chloe?" through his tears.

Dale looked at the pale, dark-headed woman standing there in shock, looking for explanation. When she received only more blank stares from her and the tall man beside her, she was struck with recognition. She knew she had seen the girl's face somewhere, it was one of the photos of the deceased.

"Abby Mills?" Dale asked incredulously.

Abby nodded silently as Jenkins hit the ground. The two officers looked to the man questioningly.

"Jimmy Mance," he said shakily. "Get us out of here."

Cal picked up Chloe, who was passed out but alive, and tried to calm down.

"Help," he sobbed roughly.

Jenkins pulled out the walkie-talkie and said into it, "Zhang, go get the rope ladder and a stretcher from the boat and bring it to the cliffside. Hurry, this is life or death here."

"10-4," came a female voice over it.

Abby was silently grateful that the officers were too preoccupied to notice the slightly irregular piling of rocks close to the gently lapping water. She couldn't deal with that right now.

"What's going on, sir?" Dale addressed Cal, gesturing to Chloe.

"She got stabbed in the back of her shoulder and it's infected. It's bad, the infection is spreading, and she lost an enormous amount of blood. She just had a seizure and stopped breathing," Cal said.

"And you?" Jenkins asked Jimmy, looking at his wrapped hand.

"It's nothing, but my head is about to explode and I'm dizzier than I've been in a long while," Jimmy answered quickly.

"Is this Chloe Carter?" Dale questioned Cal, even though she was certain it was.

Cal nodded shakily, adding, "I'm Cal Vandeusen."  
At that moment, a rope ladder came swinging over the side of the cliff and a pretty Asian woman peered over the cliff top, looking surprised.

"Secure it, now! And lower the stretcher!" Jenkins ordered her, and Zhang helped her partner tie one end around a close tree. They lowered the stretcher down, and Cal noticed that it was a specialty stretcher that was designed for rescue missions such as this. As soon as it was low enough, Cal gently placed Chloe on it, fastening the straps around her.

He kissed her forehead and murmured emotionally, "I've got you, Chloe."

As soon as Zhang and her partner started bringing her up, Cal was the first to climb the ladder, wincing as his overused muscles protested painfully. When he reached the top, he was followed by everyone else, and they were all greeted by more surprised-looking officers who were just arriving.

A few officers hadn't yet arrived, so Dale issued the order to meet at the boat through the walkie-talkie. As everyone scrambled away, trying to get Chloe and the others to the boat, Abby was the only one who lingered slightly, glancing down at Henry's crude, makeshift grave.

"I'm sorry," she whispered helplessly before running to catch up with the others.

---

When they reached the boat, a few minutes later, Dale did a head count of officers before asking the inevitable question: "Is anyone else alive on the island?"

Abby looked down, shaking her head as Jimmy answered, "No."

Cal's own head started to pound as he sat down beside Chloe's stretcher. He reached to the back of his head and felt a long gash at the bottom of his skull. The boat started up, and he waited until the last possible minute to let injury and fatigue claim him, falling to the deck beside Chloe.

---

Chloe's eyes snapped open, and all she saw was white. White walls, white curtains, white bedsheets… She had to be in a hospital, as there was one of those oxygen suppliers in her nose. The pain in her shoulder was considerably less brutal than it had been, but it still lingered, and her overall bodily soreness was terrible. She was groggy and dazed, and…Where was Cal? Frantically, she grabbed her control panel and jabbed the nurse call button repeatedly until someone came to her assistance.

Before the nurse could greet her, Chloe demanded, "Where's Cal?"

The old lady looked at her questioningly, obviously not knowing. "I'm sorry, I'm sure he'll be here to visit soon."

"No, he was with me, we're the island people!" Chloe shouted, not knowing what else to say. Just how long had she been there? The last thing she remembered, she was running away from gunshots.

"I'm sorry, honey, let me just check on that."

The nurse left the room, and Chloe's heart skipped a beat. She waited a good five seconds before pushing aside her crinkly bed covers and stepping onto the cold tile in her bare feet. Her legs shook, and she leaned on her IV cart, trying not to let her legs give out from under her. Chloe knew she shouldn't be out of her bed, but she wasn't exactly thinking at the moment and only wanted to find Cal. She was only wearing a thin hospital gown and the classic green plastic bracelet. She looked at it: _Carter, Chloe. ID2389558, _before being distracted by the bright sparkle of the silver engagement ring on her finger.

Wincing against the pain, the weakness, and the morphine-induced mental fuzziness, she dragged her IV/monitor/oxygen line with her as she staggered to the door of her room and peered out into the hallway. Luckily enough, it was deserted. She glanced at the clock on the wall next to her. It was 2:48 in the morning.

She pulled her IV with her as she first looked in the room next to hers, where she saw an elderly woman dozing peacefully. _Not Cal_, she thought. Chloe made her way to the next room, wishing she could quiet the constant _beep…beep…beep _of her monitor. Just walking was a struggle in her current state, but she pushed on, determined to find Cal. She glanced into the next room in the hall, and she saw a dark-haired man asleep on the bed. _Not Cal._

Chloe had already gotten a few feet away from that room when she realized that it was Jimmy who was sleeping back there. Her heart rate increasing, she returned to the room, flicking the light on.

"Jimmy?" she whispered tentatively.

His eyelids flickered a little, but he did not wake. Chloe glanced upwards and saw a muted television above him. It was set to a major news channel, and the headline (apparently from the previous day's news) was "The Harper's Island Tragedy."

"Oh, my God," Chloe whispered, searching for the remote. When her trembling fingers closed around it, she turned the volume up until she could hear it.

"…four new survivors were found this morning on Harper's Island: Chloe Carter, Jimmy Mance, Abby Mills, and Cal Vandeusen." When Chloe heard Cal's name, she let out a long breath. Cal was alive.

After the initial adrenaline had worn off, she felt woozy again, but wanted to stay and listen to the report.

"Two survivors were picked up earlier this week, Shea Allen and her daughter Madison. They were able to provide law enforcement officials with minimal details. The four newest survivors are currently being held at Seattle United Hospital, where one remains in an unstable condition. The others are being treated and given rest. God knows they need it. Stay tuned for more information."

A picture of John Wakefield- it looked like a mug shot- flashed across the screen, and Chloe unintentionally shuddered and went to turn the television off. Before she could try and wake Jimmy, an exhausted-looking doctor entered the room.

"Ms. Carter!" he exclaimed. "You're not supposed to be awake, much less wandering around! Here, let's go back to your room. I'm Mart Golde, and I'm your doctor," he introduced himself, offering Chloe his arm.

Chloe squeezed her eyes shut, willing it to all go away. When she opened them, all she could say was "Cal," before her legs gave out from under her. Dr. Golde caught her before she could crash to the floor, and supported her on the way back to her room. He put her back into her bed, despite her feeble protests.

"Where's Cal?" she demanded again.

"Cal is just fine," Dr. Golde answered. "He's recuperating and you can see him soon. But right now, your body is very unstable. You've been under constant monitoring for the past 40 hours or so, and this is the first time you've shown any sign of improvement."

"How soon?" Chloe asked, her eyes starting to tear up in exasperation.

"Soon, I promise." The doctor's answer wasn't good enough for Chloe, but she knew there was no point in arguing it any further. "Now, Ms. Carter, I need to take your vitals. It'll just take a moment."

As Dr. Golde pressed his stethoscope to Chloe's back, carefully avoiding her wound, Chloe asked what she'd been wanting to know since she woke up: "What happened?"

Dr. Golde sighed and looked her in the eye. "Well, Ms. Carter-"

"Chloe. Just Chloe."

"Chloe, at about 9:00 AM yesterday morning, you and your three friends were found and rescued from the bottom of a cliffside. You'd been unconscious for hours, and if Mr. Vandeusen hadn't pressed on with the CPR, you probably wouldn't have made it for another hour. The infection had spread vastly, and as soon as you arrived here, you were seizing. We loaded you up with the best antibiotics available and thoroughly cleaned both wounds in your shoulder. They're closed with stitches now, so they'll be very tender until the antibiotics finish their job. We gave you a lot of blood transfusions, but your body still has a very low amount of blood left. That's why you're weak and shaky."

Chloe nodded, taking it all in.

"You haven't had much to eat, and we've been tube-feeding you every 6 hours, but we haven't given you quite as much as you needed because your body hasn't reacted well to it yet. You also had a very slight concussion when you came in, and multiple scratches and scrapes."

"H-how about Cal?" Chloe ventured, almost afraid to ask.

"He arrived unconscious as well, but we were informed that he had only let himself pass out once you were safe."  
Chloe's heart swelled and she let the tears roll down her face silently.

Dr. Golde smiled gently. "He had a gash at the bottom of his head and a cranial fracture, but we operated and fixed it. He'll be okay, though he's still recovering. He's pretty bruised and battered himself."

"What about the gunshot wound?" Chloe asked, remembering how Sully had stitched it up.

"That was a pretty big mess, but easily fixed. Whoever closed the wound did a fine job of it. There will more than definitely be some scarring, and your shoulder will leave a scar, too." Golde sat patiently, waiting for any other questions.

"Abby and Jimmy?" Chloe asked about her other friends, now almost content that Cal was okay and nearby.

"Mr. Mance suffered a concussion, and had a gunshot would clean through his left hand. He's just as scratched up as the rest of you, but he should be fine as well. Ms. Mills also had a mild concussion, but she was released this evening, though she's waiting for Mr. Mance to be released before letting the FBI question her."

Questioning…that would come soon. Sooner than Chloe wanted.

"What about Henry?" she asked.

"I'm sorry?" Dr. Golde looked at Chloe questioningly.

"Never mind…it must be the drugs," Chloe lied.

Dr. Golde stood up. "Chloe, you should try and sleep. I'll be back to check on you in the morning."

Chloe nodded, and closed her eyes, pretending to obey his orders. As soon as he had walked out of the room, though, she ordered her legs to support her for just a few more minutes and carefully stepped out of bed again. Dragging the bulky cart along with her, she crept into the hallway, ignoring the dizziness that threatened to plunge her back into fainting.

Going past Jimmy's door, she quietly pushed open the next door. Peeking inside with her fingers crossed, she gave a tiny smile and a sigh of relief when she saw Cal sleeping in another tiny white room. She pressed her toes against the cold tile floor before walking around to one side of his bed.

"Cal?" she whispered, wiping her wet face on the back of her hand.

Cal sprung up, sitting upright and looking straight at her.

"Chloe! Oh, God, Chloe! They wouldn't let me come see you!"

Cal leaned up to kiss Chloe happily before he wrapped his arms around her, choking back a sob of relief.

"Cal," Chloe said, "I love you."

"I love you, Chloe," he whispered back and pulled away from her, moving to one side of the small bed. Chloe compliantly climbed into the bed beside him, moving the tangle of her cords to the other side of her body. She laid her head on his shoulder and curled up beside him, letting him kiss her face all over.

"Are you okay, Cal?'

"A little torn up, but I'm better off than you. I'm afraid I did a terrible job of keeping you safe."

Chloe closed her eyes. "No, Cal, you saved my life, and more than once." She started to cry again, reliving her experiences in her mind. Cal's own tears returned at seeing her so distraught again, even when she was safe. He couldn't bear to see her like that anymore.

"Ssh, Chloe. It's okay now, I've got you. You're going to be okay."

Cal stroked her hair until her weak sobs quieted and her breathing grew steady. He almost laughed when he thought of how much trouble Chloe was going to be in with the doctors when they discovered her with him. Then, he laid his arm over her stomach protectively, and drifted off to sleep, enjoying the peace and closeness of the moment before the tribulations still to come.

**AN: I might have just re-named Jenkins, but oh well. I'm much too busy to deal with trivial matters like that. Sorry this update took so long, but this week…so much to do and so little time. I have final exams and projects, and other things that must be done…I will say that it's beginning to wrap up, but I'm not sure how much more I can do with it. There will definitely be at least 2 more chapters. Probably not until Saturday or so, but I'm really not sure how long it's going to take me. Review, please? (:**


	13. Echoes

**AN: Chloe/Cal song of the week: Keep it Together by Puddle Of Mudd. Listen to it. :)**

Hours later, Dr. Golde knocked on Chloe's door, and upon receiving no response, entered the room.

"Chloe-" he started to say, but stopped short when he realized that her bed was empty. It really shouldn't have surprised him, though. He rolled his eyes in narrow-minded annoyance, not really understanding what Chloe had been through in the past week. The tall doctor left her room and checked his patient list, scanning through the names. …_Taylor, Thompson, Vandeusen…_ah. Room 318.

He walked down the hall, darting past the morning shift of nurses and entered Vandeusen's room without preamble. Surely enough, there was Chloe Carter, sleeping peacefully in Cal's arms.

Cal's eyes flickered to the agitated-looking doctor. _Uh-oh._

"This," Dr. Golde spluttered, "is _completely _inappropriate! She is _very _unstable right now!"

"I'm a doctor too," Cal answered calmly. "Obviously, she was stable enough to come find me. Which she wouldn't have attempted in the first place if you'd put me in another bed in her room."

The doctor was silent for a moment until Chloe started to fidget and mumble in her sleep.

"No!" she cried. "No, not Cal!"

Cal nudged her urgently, jarring her from her nightmare. When her eyes flew open, she began to sob loudly and clearly looked terrified, burying her face in Cal's shoulder. "He had you," she sobbed, oblivious to the doctor standing a few feet away. Cal embraced her, just holding her until she could calm down.

After a minute or two, Chloe stopped crying and turned to the doctor, never letting go of Cal's hand. She looked at him, her sad brown eyes pleading with him silently.

Dr. Golde sighed. "I'll move his bed into your room, Chloe. But you need to come with me now for another transfusion." He decided not to tell them yet that the FBI agents were waiting downstairs to see them. He'd just tell the agents to come back later.

Chloe deliberated for a moment, not wanting to leave Cal. "Go, Chloe," Cal said. "It'll only take a few minutes."

As she slowly got back out of the bed and grabbed her monitor and lines, Dr. Golde opened up a wheelchair for her and helped her settle into it. He started to wheel her out when Cal asked, "Can you up my morphine a little? My head's not doing too well."

Chloe glanced back. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Cal grimaced. "Just my head."

Dr. Golde nodded briskly, pushing a few buttons on a panel beside Cal's IV, and escorted Chloe out of the room.

Cal sighed, settling back into his bed. He was just about to tune into the news on the television when he heard a knock on his door.

"Come in," he called, and a shaken Abby Mills entered the room. She had long since cleaned up and washed the dirt and blood of the island away. After she'd rested a while to get over the concussion, she was quickly discharged as a patient.

"Abby!" Cal acknowledged. "How's Jimmy doing?"

"He's going to be released today," she said quietly, settling into an armchair. "He's fine."

"That's good."

Abby nodded. "Chloe?"

"Better, I suppose. She was herself enough to sneak in here at 3 in the morning, though she was on the verge of collapsing."

Abby gazed out the window, sighing. "The FBI people are here."

"We're going to have to explain everything, then?"

Abby bit her lip. "Shea is coming, too, with Madison. This is going to hurt her even worse. She doesn't know yet." Abby said that so indifferently that one would have thought that Abby's own heart hadn't been ripped to shreds in the past few days.

"Well, I think we should all do it together. That way, we won't leave anything out," Cal said.

"Yeah."

Cal was silent for a moment before asking, "Abby? Did they…did they get Sully?"

"Yes. Someone's trying to see if he had any family. If not, he gets a funeral with all the others that had no family." Abby's voice was strangled, and sounded angry. _JD, Uncle Marty, Malcolm, so many without anyone home. Almost half of them._

He absentmindedly touched the stitches in his left shoulder. When the doctors had tried to remove them and replace them with neater stitches, Cal had refused adamantly. He shoulder was fine, and he was only alive because of those stitches and the man who had bravely put them in. He didn't care how they looked. Face value was purely superficial. If he'd taken Chloe for her face value, he'd have dismissed her as a shallow blonde bombshell. He'd discovered that she was so much more than that.

"Abby…it's over. You're okay now. You're safe." He told Abby the same thing he'd said to Chloe earlier.

Abby looked up at him. "I know, Cal," she sighed, but she still sounded shaken. After another moment of silence, she stood up. "I'm going to go check on Jimmy." She gave a halfhearted smile and left the room.

---

Chloe's transfusion was relatively quick, and she was returned to her room within two hours. As soon as she was wheeled through the door, she saw Cal in a new bed right beside hers. Cal broke into a smile upon seeing her, but it faltered when he saw the look on the doctor's face.

"What's wrong?" he asked abruptly.

Dr. Golde shook his head, helping Chloe back into her bed. As soon as she was under the covers again, she reached her hand out to Cal, stretching her fingers out to him. Cal didn't even have to think about it; he reached out and took Chloe's hand in his, giving it a gentle but reassuring squeeze.

Dr. Golde cleared his before announcing, "I'm sending in one of our surgeons and our infection specialist; they're going to talk to you for a bit. Chloe, the tests for tetanus came back positive, so they're going to discuss the treatment plan with you."

"Tetanus?" Chloe asked.

"Don't worry. It doesn't look _too_ severe, but we are still going to need the specialists."

With that, Dr. Golde turned and left the room. Chloe turned to Cal, repeating, "Tetanus?"

"Just an infection, and it was what was causing the seizures."

"What seizures?" The pitch of Chloe's voice rose a little.

"When you blacked out and we were on the rocks, you seized on and off."

"Cal, what happened? The only thing I remember is when someone was shooting at us."

"You fainted, and the shots stopped, so I picked you up and we found Abby and Jimmy at the top of the cliffside somewhere. We kind of talked, because there was nothing else to do, then Henry came out of nowhere and tackled all 4 of us over the edge. That's how I got this," Cal explained, pointing to the bandage on the back of his head.

"We all hit our heads, save for you, and Abby says-"

"I remember!" Chloe exclaimed. "I was awake. I think." She blinked rapidly. "Oh, God."

"You saw it?" Cal asked, alarmed.

"She killed him; that's all I remember." Chloe replayed the scene in her mind, but it was still just as unnerving as it had been the first time she'd witnessed it.

"When I came to, it was dark, and they'd buried the body," Cal said. "And then, your fever came back and the spasms started. They lasted all night, and we couldn't do anything. At morning, your heart stopped." Cal's expression was pained, and Chloe was somber.

"I did CPR, and I guess it worked. Then, some FBI officers found us. The next thing I knew, I was waking up from surgery."

"It's over," Chloe said shakily, just as two female doctors came in. They were both brunettes, but one was slightly taller than the other.

"Hello, Ms. Carter," the shorter one spoke up. "I'm Molly Holt, and this is Mallory Conrad. I'm going to be your surgeon, and Dr. Conrad is the infection specialist today."

Chloe didn't speak, but her grip grew tighter on Cal's hand.

"We know you've been through a lot," Dr. Conrad spoke up, "and we're going to have this over with soon. Long story short, the infection is spreading very rapidly, and we need to remove the skin that contains the most bacteria and start you on a specific antibiotic."

"That's where I come in," said Dr. Holt. "I'm going to remove some of the skin around the back of your shoulder and get all of the bacteria out. I'll also repair the cut through your deltoid muscle. If you'd like, I can have our plastic surgeon fix it to where there will be hardly any scarring.

"No," Chloe shook her head, "leave the scars."

Dr. Holt nodded. "As you wish."

"After the surgery, we'll start you on antibiotics targeted for tetanus. Hopefully, they'll get rid of the remaining bacteria and prevent the toxins from spreading any further," Dr. Conrad supplied.

"You'd be doing the surgery immediately, then?" Cal asked, slightly worried.

"We'd have to," said Dr. Holt, "but it's a very low-risk surgery."

"Okay," Chloe agreed, "but give me a minute before you take me."

Both doctors smiled and backed out of the room, cracking the door behind them. Chloe looked at Cal, and he immediately got out of his bed and sat down on Chloe's.

"You're going to be okay, Chloe," he said, embracing her gently. He tipped her chin up and kissed her, but he pulled away laughing when the _beep-beep_ of her heart monitor sped up.

"Why did it happen, Cal? Why Henry?"

"I don't know, but I have a feeling Abby _does._ She's hiding something."

Chloe sighed, a shallow, shaky sound. "You were brave, Cal. On the bridge, you know."

"I was scared as hell, not brave. Scared for you."

"I thought…I thought he…" Chloe trailed off, her pale face growing whiter as she looked away.

"I did, too," Cal said, knowing what Chloe had been about to say.

A soft knock on the door echoed through the room, and Dr. Conrad stuck her head back in, asking, "Are you ready?"

Cal bent down to kiss Chloe again, whispering a quiet "I love you," before returning to his own bed. As the doctors came into the room and began to wheel Chloe out, she lifted her left hand and gave a tiny wave to Cal.

He genuinely smiled for the first time in days when he saw his ring glinting on Chloe's finger.

**AN: A very short chapter, yet it took forever. I'm sorry about that, but it's been a busy week. (I know I say that a lot, but it's the truth.) It's kind of winding down now, but the next chapter is FBI, I guess. So…just let me know what you think, and since it's almost over, what you thought about the story overall. Have a great rest of the week!**


	14. What Was

Because he wasn't exactly the impetuous type, Cal called a nurse into his room before actually getting up. He made sure that it would be safe for him to walk down the hall without any assistance, since he wasn't sure if he could upset any injuries by standing upright. Once the nurse cleared him to walk, he put on some thin, hospital-provided slippers, and made his way to Jimmy's room. He felt so much better, aside from the dull throb in his head and the overall soreness of his limbs, and felt immense guilt because Chloe was in so much pain, even if it was morphine-dulled.

Cal entered Jimmy's room to see Abby embracing Shea Allen, while Madison sunk into a chair listlessly and Jimmy sat silently in his bed.

"Shea!" Cal exclaimed. The woman's face was red and shiny, and her eyes were sad.

"Hi, Cal," Shea said, drawing back from Abby.

"Abby?" Cal asked, looking her in the eye. "I need to talk to you."

"So do I," Shea said. "I need to know what happened after we left. And since Jimmy is not in handcuffs right now, I'm guessing he wasn't the accomplice."

Abby walked out the door, leaving Shea and Cal to follow while Jimmy and Madison stayed inside.

"Abby?" Shea's voice was shaking. "Who did this? Who killed my sister?"

Abby took a deep breath. This was going to hurt Shea almost as much as it had hurt her. She flinched as Cal placed a hand on her arm reassuringly, while the panicky look in Shea's eyes intensified.

"I'm sorry, Shea," Abby whispered.

"Sorry for what? Abby, just say it!"

"It- it was Henry."

Shea shook her head, the color draining from her face. "No, no, what kind of sick joke are you trying to pull?"

Abby looked away, avoiding the frantic look in Shea's eyes.

"It's not a joke, Shea," Cal confirmed quietly. "Henry Dunn did this."

Shea pressed a hand to her mouth, shaking her head violently and urging her stomach to remain calm. But the disbelief, horror, and rage took over and she ducked inside a bathroom quickly. Abby and Cal could hear her throwing up behind the door. When she came back out, she was trembling from head to toe and hugging her arms around herself.

"I'm sorry, Shea. We probably shouldn't have told you before we tell the FBI." Abby said.

"But you deserve to know," Cal added.

"Why?" Shea demanded. "Why did he do it?"

Cal saw Abby's face twist ever so slightly in emotional pain

"When we were little," Abby started, "Henry would come to the island every summer and we'd just, well, play like little kids do."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Shea blinked, not sure of where it was going.

"Sixteen years ago, his parents came to take him home at the end of the summer, and we ran out of my house to say goodbye. I didn't want him to go; he was my best friend. So I told him that. I told him I wished it was just the two of us together on the island, alone."

"Oh, my God," Shea breathed.

"We were kids," Abby said helplessly. "I didn't know."

"It's not your fault, Abby," Cal said, since Shea was still putting it all together.

"It _is _my fault, though! J.D. was right- it was all about me!"

"_How_ could something you said as a child cause all this?" Shea asked. "That couldn't be the reason."

Abby shook her head. "It is," she whispered, stuttering, "he told me."

"Wait- Henry's Wakefield's kid?"

Cal nodded.

"The murders in Seattle? The ones your dad was following?"

"According to Henry," Cal supplied, "Wakefield was there, but Wakefield wasn't the one doing the killing."

There was nothing left to say at the moment, and Shea embraced Abby silently.

"Mommy?" Madison poked her head out of the door. "There's something about us on the TV."

The three went back into Jimmy's room, where he was upping the volume on the small television.

"…John Wakefield returned to Harper's Island, off the coast of Seattle, and began a new killing spree last week. The almost-full story when we return."

The news station flashed a commercial for a brand of soap, and Jimmy said, "Almost-full. They're waiting on us."

"The FBI isn't getting anything until Chloe is back."

"Back?" Abby asked.

"Surgery. It should be over soon," Cal stated shortly, not bothering to cover up his worries.

"They already know everything we did," Shea said emptily, "but they don't know anything else."

Madison frowned. "What else?"

"Just everyone else, honey," Shea said vaguely, not wanting to tell her daughter anything more.

"…And we're back with the Harper's Island Massacre," the news anchor announced. "When Patricia Wellington and Henry Dunn and their twenty-plus guests traveled to Harper's Island for their wedding celebration, they all expected it to be happiness and celebration, not a fight for their lives. They arrived on the island last Monday, and wedding guests were already missing before the week even began. The bride's cousin, Ben Wellington, did not arrive to join the party, and as of now, no one is aware of his whereabouts."

"Ben's dead," Jimmy said. "Hen- he told me."

"Two days after the guests arrived, island local Kelly Seaver was found dead, and it was considered suicide by hanging. As the week continued, guests were disappearing one by one, but it wasn't a concern until the death of the bride's father, Thomas Wellington. It was during the wedding rehearsal when a head spade that was apparently placed in the chandelier came down on Wellington, slicing him in two in front of most of the wedding guests."

Shea choked back a new sob at listening to someone describe her father's gory death.

"Sheriff Charlie Mills realized that the weapon was deliberately placed in the chandelier to kill Thomas Wellington, and only then did the wedding guests realize that bridesmaid Lucy Daramour was missing as well. Sheriff Mills began to consider the possibility that Kelly Seaver's death was not a suicide when an autopsy revealed red ink in the victim's eyes. From this point on, we have only the story from two wedding guests, Shea Allen and her 9 year-old daughter Madison. The Allens were found in a motorboat off the coast of Seattle, in between radio calls for help from the wedding guests. The remaining guests were then the only people left on the island. The locals had long since packed up and left, fearing the worst and knowing the island's past.. Madison Allen disappeared as the wedding guests were planning to leave the island, and Abby Mills received a phone call from the little girl in which she said she would die if anyone left the island. Phone service, along with power, went out after the phone call. The groom Henry Dunn, Abby Mills, Jimmy Mance, Chris Sullivan, and Danny Brooks discovered tunnels under the inn and began searching for Madison. After Sullivan and Brooks reportedly found the body of bridesmaid Beth Barrington in the tunnels, Abby Mills found Madison in a room underground and they were rescued by Madison's mother and her sister, the bride. Upon returning to the inn, they discovered Thomas Wellington's wife, Katherine, dead in the solarium. She had been stabbed in the back with a pair of pruning shears while sleeping. After this, Shane Pierce and Jimmy Mance went to ready a boat for everyone to escape the island."

At this point, Jimmy turned the television off, saying, "It's nothing we haven't heard yet."

"They think we got off after you and Chloe 'died,'" Shea said to Cal. "Henry told me Wakefield got you."

"He was almost right," Cal explained. "I thought he did have me. But that's a story for another day."

"Mommy, who killed John Wakefield?" Madison asked. Of course, she knew that the FBI said that he'd died in his own fire, but she wasn't sure she believed that.

Shea looked at Abby, not knowing what to say. She hadn't been on the island for that. Abby just bit her lip and nodded.

"She needs to know, Shea," Abby said, almost asking the mother's permission to tell her daughter.

"Henry killed Wakefield, sweetie," Abby told Madison.

"But didn't Henry die in the fire too?"

"Honey, I know this is not what you want to hear, but-"

"It was Henry, wasn't it?" Madison interrupted, sitting up straighter. "Henry killed Trish, didn't he?"

Everyone in the room nodded, slightly awed at the little girl's insight. Cal frowned, asking, "How did you know?"

Madison shrugged. "It just makes sense now. He was the one bringing me food in the tunnels, I guess. But who killed Henry?"

"I did," Abby spoke up softly.

"Oh," said Madison, "then what about the others? Trish didn't die in the fire, then, did she?"

Shea looked to Abby; she had no idea what had happened to her sister, but Abby didn't look like she wanted to answer, so Cal told the little girl the awful truth.

"Henry killed her. We saw her," he said sadly, for even as short a time as he had known Trish, he had realized that she was a good person.

"I knew they didn't die in that fire," Madison exclaimed.

"Honey, now's not the time for that," Shea scolded, a mix of emotions clouding her face. She'd thought Wakefield killed her sister.

"Did anyone fall?" Madison asked the group, looking at everyone. "I saw people falling!"

"Yeah," Jimmy said roughly. "We fell. All five of us."

"Where?"

"Off of a cliff or something?"

"That's it, Mommy. That's what I saw, but I didn't tell you." Madison tucked her feet under her.

"What do you mean, you 'saw' it?" Shea asked.

"I was just looking out of the window and then, I couldn't see anything. Then, I saw it and everything went back to normal."

Cal looked at the clock, and was surprised to see that over an hour had passed since he'd left his room. "I'm going to go check and see if Chloe's out of surgery yet," he said, leaving the room quickly.

He walked down the hall to the nurses' station. "Hello," he greeted the nearest nurse, "I need to see if Chloe Carter is out of surgery yet."

The nurse shuffled some papers around and picked up the phone, dialing a number and waiting.

"Is Chloe Carter out of surgery yet?" she asked the person on the other end of the line. "Okay, yes, he's asking about her. Oh, okay. Yes, I'll tell him. Thank you." She hung the phone up.

"She's still in surgery, sir. There were some complications."

**AN: Not great. Kind of horrible, in my opinion, but there's really not much I can do with this right now. So, nothing big until next update! Cal/Chloe song: Anthem of the Angels by Breaking Benjamin. Some of the lyrics are:**

"**There is nothing left of you**

**I can see it in your eyes**

**Sing the anthem of the angels**

**And say your last goodbye."**

**That part ^ makes me think of the 2 seconds where Cal is looking at Chloe after he is stabbed. Just saying. The whole song is depressing and kind of morbid, but I love it.**

**And another song (much more upbeat and completely cute) is Must Have Done Something Right by Relient K. It's adorable for Cal and Chloe, and I think it fits well. **

**Okay, I'm out for now! Review, please, even though this doesn't deserve one! :)**


	15. Fill the Empty

"What?" Cal said shrilly, his voice rising in alarm as his heart skipped a beat. "Complications?"

The young nurse nodded. "Happens all the time. Oh, my God. You're from the island, aren't you?"

Cal ignored the question. "What kind of complications?"

"They didn't specify," the nurse shrugged. She lowered her voice to a whisper. "Was it scary?"

A sinking feeling in his stomach, Cal replied, "You have no idea."

---

An hour later, Cal was sitting in his bed, staring blankly at the wall in front of him. No one had any information on how the surgery was going, or what was happening to his Chloe. A knock on his door shattered his worried silence, and Madison poked her head into the room. "Can I come in?"

Cal broke his gaze from the wall and nodded.

Madison wandered into the room and sat down on Chloe's empty bed. "Where's Chloe?" she asked innocently.

"She's still in surgery, Madison," Cal sighed. "She was hurt back on the island."

"Henry got her?" Madison asked, and when Cal nodded again, she simply said, "Oh."

"Why did he do it, Cal?" Madison wondered aloud. "Mommy won't tell me."

"If your mother doesn't want you to know, I probably shouldn't be the one to break the news."

"Can I tell you what I think?"

"Go ahead."

"_I _ think that it was either because of Chloe or Abby," Madison declared, and Cal answered, "What makes you think that?"

"Well, I guess it wasn't because of Chloe, or Henry wouldn't have hurt her, right? Or is that it? Was he trying to hurt her?"

"You know, Madison, you're more intelligent than everyone thinks." Cal hesitated before saying, "But I'm going to leave it up to your mother to tell you, and just know she'll tell you when she's ready, okay?"

"I guess." Madison studied Cal's face for a moment. "How did you get away from John Wakefield? Henry told Mommy that you didn't."

"Well, he lied. He chased us onto that bridge, and I helped Chloe get to the other side, and then, I got his knife and stabbed him in the arm."

"What if you hadn't gotten the knife?"

Cal didn't even want to think about it, but he answered her anyway. "Chloe would have gotten away."

Madison closed her eyes, and Cal frowned. What was she up to this time? Madison opened her eyes quickly and shook her head. "She wouldn't have."

"What are you playing at?"

Madison shrugged. "The spirits told me. She wouldn't have run away without you."

Cal watched Madison jump off the bed and dash out of the room. She knew a lot more about the whole situation than anyone gave her credit for. But what exactly had she meant? If he'd died, Chloe would have at least been safe.

Another knock sounded at the door and Dr. Holt entered the room, still wearing her scrubs, and she was followed by Dr. Conrad.

"Mr. Vandeusen," Dr. Holt greeted, giving a slight smile.

Cal was on his feet in an instant. "Is Chloe alright?" he asked, his heart pounding in his chest.

"She's stable right now," Dr. Conrad assured him, and Cal didn't even think before giving the woman a hug.

"Thank you," he said, before sitting back down almost sheepishly.

The doctors both smiled. "We had to move her to the CCU so we can keep an eye on her heart."

"Her heart?"

"Yes, during the surgery, her heart just gave up, but we were able to restart it. It seems that the infection spread a little, but after a few days, the antibiotic we've started her on should wipe that right out."

"Is she awake?"

"Not at the moment," said Dr. Conrad. "Her brain was without oxygen for maybe a minute. That's the bad news."

Cal's face fell as Dr. Holt quietly supplied, "We're not sure if she's going to wake up."

"Take me to her," Cal demanded. "Please take me to my Chloe.

"We're going to discharge you first, Mr. Vandeusen, and let her anesthesia wear off. You're ready to go, but you'll need to come back in two weeks to get your stitches out."

"Fine," Cal said, "but please just do it quickly." He was anxious to get to Chloe, and he wanted to be at her side when she woke up. She would wake up. He wouldn't allow her to come this far just to give up after surgery.

As Dr. Holt gathered the necessary paperwork, Dr. Conrad smiled, and said, "I thought you'd like to know that she wouldn't let us take the ring off for surgery. She said she wouldn't let us operate if she had to take it off."

"That's my Chloe," Cal sighed with a tiny smile. "Always irrational."

He spent the next half hour filling out paperwork, and a nurse wheeled in the suitcase that he'd brought to the island. "Your clothes were in a sorry state when they brought you here," Dr. Holt explained, "and they had everyone's suitcases. They searched and documented its contents, but you have clothes."

"Thank you," Cal nodded, and when the doctors left, releasing him, he stripped off the papery hospital gown and threw on a pair of navy pants, a starchy shirt, and a sweater over it. He slipped on a pair of shoes and picked up his suitcase, leaving the room. Back in the hallway, he walked past Jimmy's room, where doctors seemed to be discharging him as the other three looked troubled.

He made his way to the CCU, where everyone was in separate little glass-encased rooms. He immediately saw Chloe resting in one, with her eyes closed and countless monitors attached to her body. He rushed in, ignoring the protests of the nurses, and picked up Chloe's pale, slender hand. Cal held her hand, never once breaking his gaze from her face.

And he waited.

---

Cal was letting his eyes close slowly as he sat in a chair beside Chloe's bed six hours later. Countless doctors had been coming in and out of the room, taking her vitals, muttering, and leaving. He knew it didn't look good, because six hours was an extremely long time for someone to not wake up after anesthesia. He was still holding her hand when he was starting to drift off, but his head snapped up when he thought he felt her hand move.

"Chloe?" he tried, "Chloe, can you hear me?"

Her hand pressed on his, barely even noticeably, but Cal felt it.

"Chloe, baby, come on," he pleaded, getting to his feet. Her hand moved again, this time squeezing his hand faintly.

"Dr. Holt!" Cal called. The woman came running into the room, and Cal held out his hand, and said, "Chloe? I'm here." The doctor watched as Chloe's hand tightened around Cal's, but not daring to break into a smile yet.

"I don't know," she said, "it could be nerve spasms."

"No," Cal said, dropping Chloe's right hand and picking up her left, "it's not."

When he spoke, Chloe's left hand squeezed his. "It's Chloe," he said, smiling as Dr. Holt took Chloe's vitals yet again. "Her heart rate looks okay," the doctor announced. "Let me know if she wakes up, okay?"

"Will do," Cal said as the doctor left the room. After a few minutes of getting no response from Chloe, he gently touched the side of her face. He let his hand linger there for a minute before taking it away and clasping her hand again. Chloe's eyes opened halfway, blinking before closing again.

"Chloe?"

Her eyes opened again, blinking slowly, but remaining open.

"Hi, darling," Cal said quietly.

Chloe could see Cal in front of her, but everything was kind of blurry. She blinked again, focusing her eyes, before managing to say "Hi," back to Cal. Cal leaned down and kissed her forehead lightly before calling for the doctor.

Dr. Holt re-entered the room, smiling when she saw that Chloe was awake. "Chloe, can you hear me?" Upon receiving a nod, the doctor told her, "Your surgery went fine. Your heart was having some trouble, so you're in the CCU right now, okay?" Turning to Cal, the doctor said, "Just be aware that she has a lot of morphine running through her system right now, and she may be a little fuzzy for a while. We'll be back in a little while to check up on her." The doctor left the room again.

"You pulled through, Chloe."

"I don't want to leave you," she said back.

She reached her arm up and brought his face down to hers, kissing him softly.

"Everything's going to be okay," Cal assured as he embraced her, careful not to touch the bandaged area of her back.

"Cal? I hate to ruin the moment, but that nurse back there is checking you out." Chloe subtly pointed to the same nurse Cal had talked to earlier, who was trying to watch them without being seen.

"I doubt it," Cal said. "I'm probably an eyesore right now."

Chloe laughed feebly. "It must be the accent," she said with a wink.

**(Well, that suddenly got upbeat. I thought that, then I realized my iPod switched from a slow, depressing song to Must Have Done Something Right. It got me in a better mood and I subconsciously made them happy. Works for me. =] )**

"Uh-oh." Chloe bit her lip as she saw two FBI agents enter the CCU lobby. They showed identification to the giggly nurses and purposefully strode into Chloe's room.

"Hi, I'm Officer Dale," the woman introduced herself, "and this is my partner, Officer Jenkins. We're here to question you about what happened on Harper's Island."

"Chloe is in no state to be under questioning," Cal said protectively. "She's just woken up after surgery and she's got morphine running through her system."

"We apologize for the inconvenient time," Officer Jenkins spoke up, "but you are the only survivors we haven't interrogated and we're working on a timed schedule here."

"It's okay, Cal," Chloe decided. "I'm fine."

"First off, let me just tell you how sorry we are for your losses," Dale said, and her expression showed deep sympathy.

"Thank you," Cal said quietly.

"We know almost everything that happened, but we have to make sure everyone's stories line up. What happened on Harper's Island?"

"Where do we start?"

"The moment the boat left Seattle."

Cal immediately said, "Ben Wellington. He was tied to the propeller, and when the boat took off…"

Chloe drew a sharp breath as Jenkins asked, "How did you find this out?"

"Henry Dunn told me. I was in the woods with Chloe, and she walked a few feet away, and Henry popped out from behind me and dragged me to a bluish house. He tied me up, and when I came to, I was tied by Jimmy Mance, and Henry came and told us most of the story."

"Why did he not kill you?"

"He was waiting on Jimmy to sign a confession. Jimmy agreed, on the condition he could see Abby. As soon as he saw Abby, he was going to sign it and Henry was going to do away with me. Possibly also because he knew Chloe was still somewhere.

"And how were you injured, Chloe?"

"Cal and I were in a boathouse, radioing for help, and Henry came in and told us to tell the people on the other end that we were fine and heading to the mainland. He told us how dramatic it was, or something, but then I undid the latch on the window and I made Cal get out first. I wasn't fast enough, and he got me with a boarding knife." Chloe winced internally, remembering the pain.

"Then we ran," Cal added, "but Chloe didn't stay conscious for long. The blood loss was tremendous, and I tried to clean the wound the best I could, but we were in the woods and our clothes were dirty and it ended up getting infected."

"What happened next?" Dale asked, and Cal noticed the tape recorder behind her notebook.

Cal and Chloe spent the next hour going over everything they could remember of the happenings on the island until Chloe was in tears over the whole thing. Recounting the deaths of her friends and her own near-death experience was hard. The only thing reassuring her was Cal's hand over her own. The last question was given by Dale: "What happened to Henry Dunn?"

"I saw it," Chloe offered. "Cal and I were on rocks or something, and I saw Abby and Jimmy laying there, too. Jimmy was hurt, and Abby was kind of fretting over him. Henry came up behind her, and she panicked and grabbed the boarding knife and turned around. When she turned, it stabbed him. Then I passed out again and I don't know what happened."

Cal said, "I wasn't conscious at the time, but Jimmy used rocks to bury him beside the water."

"Chloe Carter and Cal Vandeusen," Officer Dale said into her recorder before clicking it off. "Thanks, both of you. We probably won't be bothering you anymore. As soon as you're released, you're pretty much free to go."

"Also, just to warn you," her partner added, "the press is stalking the building, and they more or less attacked the other four as they were leaving."

"They're gone?" Chloe asked, frowning.

"They're all flying back to their hometowns tomorrow morning, and we can arrange a flight for you when you're discharged."

"That'd be great," Cal replied gratefully.

"Don't feel obligated to do any interviews if you don't want to," Jenkins said, getting up. "The public doesn't need to know. No one else expressed the desire to do interviews, so, your call."

"Thank you," Chloe said as they left.

As soon as they were gone, Cal wiped Chloe's face and she sighed.

"What?" he asked.

"It's over, Cal."

Cal hugged her fiercely. "I will never let anything like that happen to you again."

Chloe started to sob, a mix of emotions flowing with the tears. "It's over," she cried. "It's over."

**AN: So…the story probably isn't over yet. I think this is a good place to end it, but I might do a flashback type thing. I don't know, really. Sorry this is maybe 8 days overdue, but I forgot about it until today..**

**As always, read & review? :) Thankya.**


	16. Adieu

**AN: Happy New Year, guys! **

No less than a week later, Chloe had finally been cleared of any heart trouble. Her doctors had switched her from IV antibiotics to an oral medication, and she was discharged from the hospital on the day that a memorial was being held for the victims of John Wakefield and Henry Dunn.

As soon as the necessary paperwork had been completed and filed away, Cal helped Chloe put on her short black dress and kissed her neck softly as she twisted her hair into a messy updo. Cal himself was dressed in black dress pants and a crisp white shirt, the most appropriate thing he had in his suitcase. He hadn't wanted Chloe to go to the memorial, but she'd insisted on saying a final goodbye to her friends. Cal knew it was definitely not going to be an easy day, but he wouldn't leave Chloe's side.

The FBI had released details of the murders three days prior, but it had no major effect on anyone throughout the country. There were men and women and children, old and young alike, that cried for the people they hadn't known, but everyone went about their lives. Cal and Chloe both knew that the only way Chloe was going to find peace was by attending the memorial.

As they were leaving the hospital, Chloe made a last-minute stop at its gift shop, coming out with dozens of flowers, reds, pinks, yellows, and a solitary white bloom. She carried her flowers along with her silence as Cal loaded their suitcases into their small rental car and drove them to the church where the memorial was being held. The actual service was being held in the activity room, a large, open space in the back of the building.

As Cal parked the car, Chloe faltered when she saw all of the reporters and camera crews struggling to get a glimpse inside the church. Very few people were being allowed in by the police officers guarding the door, and only after being scanned with a metal detector. After a moment of hesitation, she let Cal escort her up the walkway, still clutching her flowers.

"How do you feel to be one of the six survivors of Harper's Island?" one man shouted, thrusting his microphone at them.

"How scary was it, on a scale of one to ten?" another said, waving his camera at them.

Cal helped Chloe avoid the flashbulbs as quickly as they could, and the officers didn't even stop to pass the metal detector over them. The officers knew who they were, their faces had been plastered across international news.

When they entered the big room, extra pews had been hauled in, and many people, friends of the victims, were kneeling and praying, most with tears streaming down their faces. Chloe saw Shea sitting in a heap in front of a large portrait of Trish, her black dress splayed over the ground. She was crying violently into the bouquets and wreaths surrounding the picture of her smiling, happy sister while Madison sat in a pew listlessly, looking from portrait to portrait. There were pictures of every victim: starting with Ben Wellington on one side, with Trish in the middle, and ending with Sully on the other side of the room.

Chloe pulled Cal over to the picture of Ben Wellington, someone she had only met once, many years ago. Already crying, she selected a pale pink rose from her large bouquet and laid it on top of the frame surrounding his picture. Cal recognized the pale pink to symbolize admiration, grace, and happiness.

The next picture was Henry's Uncle Marty. In the photo, he was grinning and toasting to something with a glass of champagne. Chloe didn't bother to wipe the tears that were dripping and staining her dress as she placed a single yellow rose on his photo.

Chloe barely remembered Kelly, but she recognized her without even reading the name card beneath her photo. Her mom had fallen victim to Wakefield, too, seven years ago. Chloe placed another pale pink rose on it before moving to the next photo, a picture of Lucy Daramour holding her pet, Gigi.

"Luce," Chloe whispered, kissing a yellow rose, the color of friendship, and laying it on her picture. She recognized the picture; it had only been taken six months ago when she'd gone for a day at the beach with Chloe. She let the tears fall, remembering her friend.

"I didn't really know Booth," Chloe remarked when she came to the next picture, but she placed a pale pink flower on his picture anyway.

She placed pale pink roses on the memorials of Thomas Wellington, Richard Allen, J.D. and Malcolm before arriving at the elegant portrait of Beth. Cal touched Chloe's arm as she looked at the picture of her friend, not knowing what to say. She kissed another yellow rose, honoring her friend one last time.

More pale pink roses were given before they came to the pictures of Nikki Bolton and Shane Pierce, both who had died fending off Wakefield in the Cannery. "They saved our lives," Chloe said, her voice cracking. She carefully put both a pink and yellow rose on both of their photos, offering her silent thanks. Another yellow rose went out to Danny, who had sacrificed himself for the lives of Shea and Madison.

Finally, Chloe arrived at Trish's beautiful portrait. Trish looked happy, carefree even, wearing a bright blue sundress with a string of pearls around her neck. Shea silently got up to let the couple pay their respects, moving back to the picture of her father. Chloe cried a little louder as she pulled the lone white flower from her bouquet: the symbol of young love. Cal couldn't help weeping, too; he couldn't stand to see Chloe torn like this and he was mourning the losses as well. As Chloe hugged the rose to her chest, Cal wrapped his arm around her shoulder and she let go, letting the rose fall beside Trish's white grin. Chloe stood there crying into Cal's shirt for a few minutes, she didn't want to say it. But she knew she had to, so she composed herself as best she could, and whispered, "Goodbye, Trish."

Cal led Chloe to the seemingly final picture: Sully. Chloe pulled a pink happiness rose, but Cal took a yellow out of her arms. However brief, Sully had been a friend to Cal, and he was going to remember him that way. Straightening, Chloe looked to her right and saw Madison looking at the picture of Henry Dunn. He, too, had a table. There was but one lone daisy resting on it, and the photo was much smaller and less prominent than any of the others.

"That's not right," she choked to Cal. "He doesn't deserve a spot here."

Chloe watched Madison for a moment before sitting down in a pew. She had never been very religious, but she closed her red-rimmed eyes, set her two remaining red roses down, and joined the rest of the crowd in praying. Letting his eyes wander for a moment, Cal noticed Abby and Jimmy had arrived, and they too were making their way from picture to picture. When Chloe looked up moments later, she stood and attached one red rose bloom to the front of Cal's shirt, and the other to the front of her dress.

"Hello, everyone," a minister called from the front of the room, causing many wet eyes to look up. "We are here today to honor, remember, and bid farewell to our dear friends and family."

As an old lady sat down at the piano, he went on, "I would like you all to join me in singing to honor those who died."

Soft piano chords began to sound as Cal took his place beside Chloe in a pew.

The minister began, his deep voice echoing through the room. "When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary; when troubles come and my heart burdened be."

People joined in singing, one by one, everyone recognizing the song. Chloe lifted her voice in the chorus, shakily singing, "You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains; you raise me up, to walk on stormy seas; I am strong, when I am on your shoulders; you raise me up... to more than I can be."

The second verse of the song caused more crying, but no one stopped singing until the song was finished. Ushers began to pass out a sheet with lyrics to the next song, Angel by Sarah McLachlan. The pianist began her music as people wiped their eyes. Chloe made it through the first verse steadily, but the heavy tears returned when she sang the chorus with Cal. "In the arms of an angel…fly away from here."

Cal grasped her hand in his as they finished the first chorus with, "You're in the arms of an angel; may you find some comfort there." The pianist stopped after then. The first half of the song had served its purpose. Chloe looked at the people surrounding them, not hearing the prayers the minister was proclaiming. There was not a dry eye in the room, even Madison's face was buried in her mother's side. She saw Jimmy failing at holding back the tears, and all of the strangers that had known the victims cried: some sobbing openly like she was, some crying silently.

It wasn't a new thought, but the only thing running through her mind was "Why?"

People slowly started to leave when they finished praying, most sparing last glances at the faces of the people they'd known. When most of the people had departed, and only Abby, Jimmy, Shea, Madison, and a few strangers remained, Chloe rose, walked to the front of the room to a deserted table of candles, and selected one. She lit it and reverently carried it back to Trish's table, placing the light right beside the picture.

"I know you've found your peace," she said quietly as Cal came up behind her. "You were a great friend to me, and I'll never forget you. I love you, Trish."

Chloe turned, letting Cal's arms encircle her and support her. She let him hold her as she cried; she knew she needed to cry until she couldn't anymore. He led her to a pew and laid her down against him, stroking her hair as she whimpered sadly. Eventually, and only after only the four other survivors were left in the church with them, she stopped, her sobs receding. Cal helped her up, and they walked over to the other four to say goodbye.

As soon as they were all looking at each other, they saw that everyone's eyes were pulled downward by dark circles, and they were red from crying on top of that. There weren't any words left to say, but Abby drew Chloe into a silent embrace, and each person hugged everyone else in turn. Even Jimmy clapped Cal on the back affably.

"Well," Cal said, breaking the silence, "we're going to be going now."

"Right," Abby replied. "Bye, Cal. Bye, Chloe."

They all said casual goodbyes, though not hiding the sadness behind them. Chloe took a deep breath, giving all of the photos last looks before exiting the building with Cal, having to avoid the media once again before ducking into the makeshift safe haven of their rental car.

The drive to the airport was short and silent: the sadness still hung in the air. The FBI agents had kept to their word and arranged an immediate flight back to Chloe's home in Los Angeles.

They changed into more comfortable clothes in an airport restroom, but Chloe re-pinned the red rose to the front of her shirt. Cal did the same with his, and Chloe smiled when she saw him coming out of the restroom, wearing khaki pants, a polo, and bearing the symbol of love across his chest. They shoved their previous outfits into their suitcases and checked their luggage in before going through security. Once at the terminal, they had at least an hour to kill before their plane departed, so they entered a coffee shop, hand in hand.

They felt everyone's eyes on them, staring with curiosity and pity, but they ignored it as Chloe ordered a latte and Cal ordered tea and a piece of coffee cake to split. They were both starving, and neither of them had been eating much at the hospital. Cal had hardly ever remembered a meal, and Chloe hadn't responded well to food in her stomach, so she was getting all her nourishment from an IV. She'd lost weight from her already thin physique, and Cal was probably ten pounds lighter as well.

They claimed a corner booth as soft music played in the room, Chloe diving into the muffin-like cake. Cal sipped his tea, digging his own fork into the warm cake. Chloe paused then, uncomfortable amidst all of the stares and sideways glances.

"Everyone's staring," she muttered, looking up at Cal through dark eyelashes. "Gawking at us like we're freaks."

Cal slapped a ten-dollar bill down on the table. "Let's just go." He helped Chloe up, escorting her back into the hustle and bustle of the airport, where everyone was too busy running to catch a flight or keeping tabs on children to recognize them.

As they sat down in the terminal of the airport, Chloe looked at Cal and asked, "What are we going to do when we get home?"

"We, my dear, are going to live happily ever after."

Chloe sighed, touching his arm with the hand that his ring was on. "I wanted a big wedding, with friends all around me. Something memorable."

"Chloe, we don't have to talk about this right now."

"Right." Chloe shook her head, clearing the thoughts. Then she made a sound that was halfway between a laugh and a sob. "I'm sorry I threw your pants into the ocean."

"Don't be; you put on quite a show at the Cannery. Poor chap never even saw it coming." Cal smiled then. "You were brilliant."

"Flight 36B to LAX now boarding," a voice boomed over the loudspeaker, bringing the pair to their feet. As the plane took off half an hour later, Chloe curled up into Cal's side and drifted off into a fitful sleep.

**AN: Thanks so much for the reviews! Okay, I will say that there are going to be maybe 2 more chapters before I end this. OR, if you prefer, I could bring some mystery/horror into the picture. Review and tell me: do they deserve their happy ending or should I draw out the torture a little more? **

**Next chapter will be a flashback, so…yeah. Happy 2010, everyone. May it be better than 2009!**


	17. Memories Seep From My Veins

**AN: I know I said this would be a flashback…but…that didn't turn out the way I thought it would. **

_She screamed, watching his body hit the water. She saw the bloodstained knife, John Wakefield beckoning her to her death. She could run. She could escape, get over the bridge and be safe. But as she screamed and sobbed, seeing him floating in the water, she knew she didn't want to live anymore. Not without Cal. The strangled noises coming from her throat silenced, and she tore her gaze from her fiancé to the one who'd ended his life. Four words and she let go. Falling, her only thought was of Cal. Then she hit the water, and-_

Chloe's eyes flew open, and her breathing came rapidly.

"Chloe, wake up," Cal begged, shaking her gently. She dug her fingernails into his arm when she realized they were still on the plane, and it had just landed at LAX. She looked into Cal's worried face, relief flooding her own, but she couldn't cry. Her hand wandered to the base of his throat, touching it in an insane effort to make herself feel better in knowing that it was just a dream.

"You were shaking," Cal told her.

"Just a dream," she assured him, but she was saying it for herself, too. She picked her head up off of his shoulder, her tone falsely casual as she asked, "Did I really sleep the whole flight?"

Cal nodded. "We're home."

Home.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

Chloe was shaken, but she nodded her head anyway.

They got off the plane, and managed to get out of the airport with their luggage within a half-hour. It took them just as long to remember where they'd parked the car, but eventually, Cal was opening the trunk and hauling their suitcases inside. Chloe settled herself into the passenger seat, but stopped when she saw the two pictures tucked into the mirror on the passenger side. One was a picture of herself and Cal that they'd taken one August day at the beach. The other was a picture of Chloe from her college years, and in the picture, she was surrounded by her three best friends: Beth, Lucy, and Trish. Chloe grabbed the picture, turning it face down on the dash before Cal could see her do it. She couldn't look at that picture right now, not if she didn't want to have another breakdown.

Cal swung himself into the car and cranked it up. The sun was beginning to set, the sky vibrant with pink and orange hues. The drive to Chloe's apartment was short, even in the trafficked streets of Los Angeles. Chloe let Cal get both of their suitcases inside before joining him. She flicked on the light in the foyer, taking in the quiet stillness of the whole place. She hadn't been anywhere this quiet in weeks now; even her dreams were plagued by screams and sobs. Chloe closed the front door, locking it, and for the first time sliding the extra deadbolt into place. Cal set their suitcases down and looked to Chloe, not able to anticipate what she would do next.

She tried to push the haunting images of death out of her mind as she stepped into Cal's arms for a quick embrace before going to check the voicemail on her home phone purely out of habit. Cal sat down on one of the leather couches as she pressed the button on the answering machine, and a frenzied voice came out.

"Chloe Emmeline Carter, why aren't you answering your cell phone? Do you have _any _idea how completely freaked out I am right now?" Chloe recognized the voice as her best friend in LA, Rebecca Leighten, and only then realized that she must have left her cell phone somewhere on the island. "I can't afford a plane ticket to Seattle right now, but you'd better damn call me the second you get this message!"

The next eight messages were all from Becca, and they all contained the same urgency. "I guess I should call her," Chloe said, not surprised to find that she wanted to talk to no one beside Cal. She picked up the phone and dialed her friend's number, sitting down with Cal on the couch.

"Chloe!" Becca's voice shouted in her ear. "Why haven't you called me?"

"Hi, Becca. We just got home, and I don't have my cell phone."

"God, Chloe, are you okay?"

Chloe almost laughed, answering, "Not by a long shot. But I'll live." _My friends won't, though._

"Chloe, I'm coming over tomorrow, okay? Is Cal alright?"

"I think so. I'll see you tomorrow, Becca."

"Bye, Chloe."

Chloe hung the phone up without voicing her own goodbye, fingering the rose still on her shirt. Almost immediately, the phone rang again. Chloe picked it back up, answering with a simple "Hello?"

All she heard was silence from the other end of the line, then a short static as the caller hung up.

"What was that?" Cal asked.

"Wrong number, I guess," Chloe said, not even giving it a second thought.

Cal studied Chloe for a moment, before pulling her up off the couch. "Come on," he said, taking in the pronounced dark bruise-like circles under Chloe's eyes. "You need some rest."

Once in the bedroom, Chloe pulled off her wrinkled clothes and put on one of Cal's extra t-shirts, breathing in its familiar smell. She climbed into the bed, where Cal was already waiting, watching her. She laid her head down on the pillow, her face inches from Cal's. She inched over to him, her lips searching for his. She kissed him, not passionately, but needing comfort. His arms encircled her and rubbed her back carefully. Cal didn't want anything more in that moment than to be holding her, keeping her safe. She let her lips linger on his for as long as she could before she drew back. His breath was warm on her forehead, and she nestled in closer to him before letting sleep, and the nightmares that came with it, claim her.

---

_"I love you," he said. She heard herself sob, "What are you doing?" He turned, with only an unloaded gun to defend himself._

Chloe awoke, still trembling from the vividness of the dream, to a fierce pounding on the front door. She tensed in Cal's arms for a moment, shaking him awake. Cal heard the pounding, too, and was still for a moment before saying, "It's probably just Becca."

"Oh," Chloe said, letting out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. "Becca."

Chloe didn't even bother changing out of Cal's t-shirt before answering the door, and her friend pounced on her, hugging her tightly. "Chloe, I'm so glad you're okay!"

Cal joined them in the foyer, wearing jeans and a new polo, and Becca's short brown curls shook as she hugged him, too.

"I was so scared, Chloe. I heard about a situation on some island, but I didn't realize it was the same one you were on until the day after. I freaked out, and they had no information except for that you were missing. Missing and presumed dead."

"We almost were," Chloe muttered.

"What happened, Chlo?"

"I- I'd rather not talk about it yet," Chloe stammered, recalling the horrible time she'd spent in a storm drain, sobbing, cold, and scared for her own life and Cal's.

_Is your fiancé willing to die for you?_

That cold, heartless question came echoing back to haunt her at that moment. "Oh, God," she whispered, almost inaudibly.

"What is it, Chloe?" Cal asked, his hand immediately on her arm.

"Nothing," she said, forcing a grin.

"I brought food," Becca interjected. "I, um, thought that most of your food in the fridge would be bad by now."

"Thank you," Cal accepted the bag of obviously home-baked goods. "We didn't even check, to be honest."

Becca shut the door and pranced into the kitchen with the two, and everyone was unsure of what to say. "What were you in the hospital for?" Becca broke the ice.

"Cal had a concussion and a skull fracture." Then, Chloe pulled aside the shoulder of her shirt to reveal her own wound to Becca, the stitches still ugly and the wound still an angry red.

Becca gaped at the cut, finally seeing a mark of the killer. "And to think you had a thing for serial killers," she joked weakly, taken aback by the severity.

Becca stayed over for an hour, making small talk and only managing to get tidbits of information from Chloe. She definitely was not ready to discuss this with anyone. Becca left later, heading to her job as a publicist.

Chloe locked the door behind her before sitting down on the couch beside Cal, pale sunlight streaming in the windows. "Did you sleep well?" he asked her as she pulled her knees to her chest.

"Not really." Chloe recalled the dream, and how real it seemed every time. It was the same, over and over again, but sometimes it was cut short when she was awakened by something.

"What are you dreaming about?"

Chloe looked at him, and he could see the answer in her eyes. Wakefield.

"It's over now, Chloe, you're safe."

"Thanks to you." Chloe hadn't even known what to feel when he'd pulled her out of that drain. Of course she'd felt relief, but anguish flooded her system as well. Cal had been there, Cal had been alive, but that was Wakefield's plan, wasn't it?

"Sociopath," Chloe said. "He had no empathy. _How_ could such a person exist?"

"Henry?"

"Wakefield. When he had me locked up," she choked out, "he asked me if you were willing to die for me. And that made it even worse, sitting there waiting, because I knew that if you came, he would kill you, and then me. And I knew if you didn't come, he had already killed you, and then he'd eventually get to me, too."

Cal held her hand as she cried her experience out. "He poked his knife at me like I was some kind of animal, and he left, and then I heard you a few seconds later. I almost didn't say anything because I didn't want you to die. But- but then I completely forgot and I just wanted to see you again, to hear your voice. We got away, but in my dream…" She trailed off, shaking her head, her eyes shining with unshed tears.

"That's why I wake up shaking, because I relive every second of it, but worse. Cal, I watch him kill you." Chloe's voice broke, and Cal drew her to him, holding her and kissing the top of her head.

"Then, he throws you off the bridge and I watch you fall into the water. He tells me to come here with the knife he just used, and I could, but I don't want to run away." Chloe sobbed as she told him the ending of every dream: "I tell him he can't have me and I let go."

"I'm here, baby, I'm here," Cal tried to soothe her, all the while remembering what Madison had said to him at the hospital about Chloe not running away. That child, sweet though she was, was the epitome of creepy.

Chloe pressed her face against his chest, his even heartbeat calming her as they sat, huddled together. They clutched each other, Chloe needing to feel that he was there, that he was alive, Cal comforting her as he knew the images were replaying in her mind. They sat there for an hour, just holding on, before either of them made to move. After all, they had all the time in the world.

**AN: Okay, I can't draw this out much longer, so I need to know if you want the happy ending or prolonged agony. Maybe one or two more chapters before I can bring this to a close, unless the latter option is chosen! Make my day & review? :)**


	18. Never Gonna Be Alone

**AN: My mind is made up. I got comments and messages, and the votes were actually tied. I was kind of surprised at that, really. No matter, though, you will all get what you want. Not necessarily when you want it though. Basically, well, I don't know how to describe it. I'm adding song lyrics in random places where I think they fit, so…those should be bolded and centered. If you want to know what songs they're from, just ask. **

Over the course of the next week, the two didn't ever leave the apartment. Cal found some sleeping pills for Chloe that made her sleep without dreaming, so she wasn't plagued by Wakefield. They were recovering together, though, and it took time.

"…**break the walls between building atrophy, causing all your problems to recede..."**

They spent a lot of their time talking about what had happened, and more often than not, Chloe ended up crying, which brought Cal to tears as well. Talking helped, according to psychiatrists, anyway.

"It's unreal," Chloe was saying, "that the one person it could not be, the person we were there for, the person many of us grew up with…" She paused as Cal nodded, letting her vent her feelings once more.

"Trish," she sighed. "It's scary to think that the person she trusted most betrayed her." Chloe looked at Cal, but he didn't really know what to say to that.

"Oh," she said hurriedly, "I- I didn't mean-"

Cal shook his head, bearing a small smile on his face. "I know."

Chloe shifted in her seat on the bed, the light from the lamp on the nightstand making her face glow radiantly. "I think I've talked about it enough now, Cal."

"If you haven't, you can tomorrow." Cal leaned forward and gave her a short kiss.

Chloe smiled shakily, twisting the silver ring around her finger.

"I hate to sound all corny by stealing a line from a celebrity," she said, crossing her legs, "but you've handled me at my worst."

"I don't know _what_ I did to deserve you at your best, though, but I must have done something right." Cal smiled, taking Chloe's hand and kissing each of her fingers.

Suddenly the phone rang. Chloe reached over to the nightstand and picked up the phone, scanning the caller ID.

"Restricted," she commented, before answering the call with a quick "Hello?"

The line was silent, save for a bit of crackly static. She tried again. "Hello?"

Chloe frowned when the line went dead, pulling the phone away from her ear. "That was weird. Just static."

Chloe jumped when the phone rang immediately. "Restricted again," she muttered, and Cal took the phone from her.

"Hello?" Upon receiving the same static Chloe had, he went on. "If this is a prank call, we do not appreciate it. If you call us again, we will call the police." He hung up the phone, shrugging.

"Harsh," Chloe joked.

"We don't want them to interrupt us, do we?" Cal asked, laying his head onto the pillow.

"Interrupt us? In what?"

Cal pulled Chloe down to his level and kissed her fiercely. "That's what," he said, hardly stopping to break the kiss. Chloe didn't hesitate to pull his shirt off. Things were finally getting back to normal.

---

"…**return to days when you knew you still felt alive, reveal the way you felt when you don't look inside…"**

**---**

Was it really going to be this easy? They were there, and had been for a week. He laughed to himself, slipping his feet into his familiar boots and remembering what he'd said. He was going to stick to his word.

---

Chloe woke up the next morning to sunlight streaming through the windows of her bedroom and Cal propped up on one elbow, watching her with a smile.

"How's your shoulder, darling?" he asked.

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Well, good morning to you too," she yawned. "It's fine. Sore, but getting better." Cal hadn't bothered taking her to a hospital to get her stitches removed; he'd just done it himself. Now, the fading wound was no longer bloody, but still an angry swollen pink line. It would take weeks for it to fade to a scar.

"Did you sleep okay?" he asked cautiously. "You forgot your pill last night."

"Don't worry. I'm okay, Cal," Chloe said, avoiding the question. She hadn't woken shaking, but her dreams were the same. She just didn't want Cal to worry. "You're here."

Cal saw right through the lie, but he wasn't going to push her. His dreams hadn't exactly been joyful either. "Forevermore," he said, mock poetically. "You'll never be alone, as long as I have a say in it."

Chloe flashed her ring-clad finger at him. "I'm pretty sure you already do." She smiled softly when she climbed out of the bed and pulled on the t-shirt he'd been wearing last night.

Cal looked at her body, taking in how underweight she looked at the moment. He probably didn't look too well himself, but that could be fixed. He got out of bed and dressed beside Chloe, inspecting the condition of his own shoulder. It looked ragged, rough, but that didn't matter.

"I'm making you breakfast," Cal announced, and when Chloe tried to protest that she wasn't hungry, he said, "You may not be hungry, but your body is. You need something."

Chloe just shrugged. "Okay, then," she complied and followed him to the kitchen. She sat down at the table and Cal opened up the fridge.

"We have tea, tortillas, carrots, and moldy cheese." Chloe bit her lip, laughing a little. They hadn't been shopping once yet.

"I think I'll go pick some things up, unless you want a tortilla with carrots."

"Good idea," Chloe laughed. Cal grabbed his car keys off of the counter, closing the fridge.

"I'll be right back," he promised, kissing her and walking out of the kitchen. Chloe heard the front door close, so she got up to make sure Cal had locked it behind him. When she'd made sure, she watched Cal's car pull out of the driveway and sunk down onto a couch. She didn't know how to occupy herself for the time being, so she just picked up the TV remote and flipped it on, turning to a news station out of curiosity.

There was nothing on the news about the island, and Chloe was grateful for that as she watched a news anchor remind everyone to get their holiday shopping done, as it was the first week of December. Chloe had completely forgotten the date: December 3. _Crap!_ she thought. Tomorrow was Cal's birthday and she had nothing for him. He'd be worried if she wasn't home when he got back, even if she left a note, so she groaned and decided to go out after he got home. After flipping through multiple soap operas and cartoons, Chloe gave up on the TV and turned it off just as the doorknob began to rattle.

She waited to hear the familiar sound of Cal's voice, but the knob kept rattling. Chloe picked herself up and grabbed the phone before walking into the room where she could clearly view the wooden front door. She saw the doorknob moving violently, and swallowed heavily before calling out, "Cal?"

No answer. "Cal?" she tried again, a little louder.

Nothing. Chloe didn't like this. She punched in 911 on the phone just as the front door flew open when the lock must have broken. Chloe snapped her head up and dropped the phone, letting out an earth-shattering scream when she saw who was standing there.

"**See the devil on the doorstep now, my oh my…"**

**AN: Sorry this was such a short chapter, but I had to move the plot along a little. Next chapter will probably be from Cal's POV. Just to let you know. : ) Review, please, and if you wanted the happy ending, disregard most of this chapter and the rest of chapters yet to be posted. THANK YOU and have a great rest of the weekend!**


	19. Until You Are

**AN: Darn you, Fanfiction. I was trying to post the last chapter's title as "Never Gonna Be Alone…" and this one's as "…Until You Are," but apparently, I can't put dot-dot-dot.**

"**All that I'm after is a life full of laughter, as long as I'm laughing with you."**

Cal was five minutes away from his and Chloe's apartment when he first heard the scream of police sirens. He didn't give it much thought until they only grew louder as he got closer and closer to home. Cal frowned and turned onto his street, and his heart sank when he saw the police cars in the apartment driveway.

"Not Chloe," he whispered, pulling into the driveway, but his prayer wasn't answered when he saw that the door to his apartment was wide open and police were inside.

He threw the car into park, not bothering to cut the engine, opened his door, and sprinted inside, where he was greeted by a gruff policeman. "Stay back," the officer warned, "this could be a crime scene."

"What's going on?" Cal spluttered, feeling dizzy. "Where's Chloe?"

"That's what we're trying to find out, so if you could just-"

"I'm her fiancé; what the hell is going on?"

"We received a 911 call from this residence," the officer explained. "We heard a scream and a scuffle, with someone screaming 'no' and 'Cal' before the line went dead."

"Oh, God, why did I leave?" Cal said,

"Are you Cal?" the officer asked.

"Yes," Cal said halfheartedly. His mind was racing.

The officer took out his handcuffs. "I'm afraid we're going to have to take you in for questioning."

"What? No, you've got to find Chloe!" Cal protested, looking around at the empty apartment and the phone in pieces on the floor.

As the officer snapped the handcuffs around Cal's wrist with a "Sorry, it's mandatory," statement, Cal was panicking, just whispering, "Where's Chloe?"

---

"Give me a runthrough of what happened this morning," the LA detective chief ordered Cal gently.

"We woke up, I'm not sure what time it was, and there was nothing in the fridge, so I went out to pick some things up."

Cal picked at a hangnail; he was a wreck only an hour later.

"That's all?"

Cal nodded, squinting at the man opposite him through the glare of the bright light.

"Cal Vandeusen," the detective sighed. "Why does that name sound so familiar?"

"Harper's Island," Cal deadpanned.

"Oh, God," the man said. "I'm very sorry for your loss."

Cal just nodded again. "Who took Chloe?" he choked out.

"That's what we're going to find out, sir. We're going to do our best to find her."

Cal looked away from the detective, putting his face in his hands. "This is all my fault. If I hadn't left…"

"If your story proves to be true, that you were out buying groceries, it's not your fault. While we check your alibi, we're going to keep you here. Is there anyone that could prove that you were indeed out purchasing groceries?"

Cal stuck a hand in his pocket and pulled out a crumpled receipt from earlier that day. He handed it to the detective, saying, "If this isn't enough, the cashier's name was Maggie. She recognized me; she can tell you I was there."

Cal ran a hand through his hair, feeling empty. "We only got home a week ago. No one even knows how awful it was on that island, save for the FBI. But they can't replicate the emotions that played out, what we saw happen before our eyes. Do you understand that? Chloe was locked in a storm drain by John _Wakefield._ She almost died. I almost died. It was pure chance that I didn't." Cal choked out another sob. "I need to find Chloe."

"**I've watched the weight of your world come down…"**

The detective tried to remain stoic, but he felt compassion for the man in front of him. Detective Bates had lost his own wife to cancer the previous year. "We're going to find her, Mr. Vandeusen."

---

Little over an hour later, Cal sat motionless in the same room, waiting on someone to confirm his alibi. When Detective Bates walked in, Cal's head snapped up.

"You're clear," the detective nodded, and Cal just made one request.

"Can you get me on the phone with Officer Jenkins or Dale in Seattle, please?"

Cal had an awful feeling pressing at him, and he didn't want to think it true. But it could be, it could be, and Chloe could be….no. She wasn't.

"Of course. This way," Bates motioned for Cal to follow him into the main office area. "Rosa, get Seattle on the phone."

A tall, imposing woman picked up the phone and punched in a few numbers before handing the phone to Bates. When someone on the other end picked up, Bates asked to speak with Jenkins or Dale, then handed the phone to Cal.

"Dale speaking," came the woman's voice over the phone.

"Officer? This is Cal Vandeusen, from the-"

"How are you, Cal?" Dale's voice was genial, and completely genuine when she asked, "Are you and Chloe doing okay?"

"Chloe's been taken," Cal blurted senselessly.

"Taken?" Back in Seattle, Dale's eyebrows rose in alarm.

"Yes, taken. I went to get groceries this morning and when I got back, she was gone."

"Why are you calling me?"

"I know this is utterly stupid, but I have to know. Is John Wakefield dead?" Cal bit his lip, knowing the detective's automatic answer.

"Of course he's dead! Cal, honey, this is the least of your worries."

"Can I arrange a meeting in Seattle, then? I need to talk to you and you partner."

"Are you sure?"

"Completely."

A private flight was arranged, and Cal was at the detective station in Seattle by the end of the day. He walked in, exhausted and in an awful state, and was greeted by Dale and her partner, Jenkins.

Cal spared no trivial "hello" before asking to be led to their office. Once he was there, he asked once more.

"Are you absolutely positive Wakefield is dead?"

"We had the evidence," Jenkins stated, "and if that's why you're here, you're wasting your time."

"You found a body? A complete body?"

"I don't know the specifics," Dale said, "but I can get in contact with the people that retrieved the bodies."

"Do it," Cal ordered.

---

She was here again, and the only thing that was keeping her from being hysterical was the smell of the t-shirt that was clinging to her body damply. This wasn't possibly happening, she told herself, it couldn't. It already happened, no, no, it was the awful nightmare that she'd wake up from soon, no, not real. He wasn't real anymore, wasn't here, wasn't anywhere, no.

Drip, drip, drip…

She hugged her knees closer to her chest.

"…**Living in a world so cold…I feel numb…"**

---

Dale placed the phone back in its holder. "They're going through all of the records and every last photograph. It could take a while."

"We don't _have_ a while!" Cal exclaimed, pounding his fist against the side of a desk. "Chloe might not have a while!"

Dale was better at calming people than her partner, so she put on her best soothing voice. "Cal, hitting things isn't going to help matters. We're doing our best to help you." _Even if it is completely fruitless,_ she added silently.

The next day came around, and with every passing sleepless minute, Cal grew more restless and more panicky, simply waiting for the phone to ring to either confirm or deny his fears. Los Angeles police hadn't called either, so he could only assume they'd found nothing. No trace, no anything.

Jenkins brought in a croissant and set it down on the table next to Cal with a coffee. Cal wasn't hungry, but he gulped the scalding coffee to keep himself awake. He'd never liked the bitter taste, and it burned going down his throat, but he didn't feel it. He felt nothing but emptiness, and the only thing he could see was Chloe's face.

Cal jumped when the phone rang an hour after he'd finished the drink. He grabbed for it and thrust it into Dale's outstretched hand impatiently, his heart rate quickening. Cal didn't know what he wanted to hear, because either way, the news wouldn't be good.

"Dale," the lady answered sharply.

Cal watched Dale's frown intensify as the officer nodded and listened, occasionally giving an "okay" or an "uh-huh." Finally, she let out a "You've _got_ to be kidding me."

Cal felt his heart sink. Had he been right?

---

He kept watch on the empty shoreline, enjoying the suspense. This was too much fun. He chuckled to himself, not even minding the long wait. He relished the occasional faraway sounds of her screams, and every once in a while, went back to taunt her and scare her a little. It was only a matter of time now.

**AN: Mwahaha. Again, I apologize for the shortness of this chapter. Reviews? :)**


	20. Update February 15, 2010

Aaargh!

Okay, first of all, I am so sorry for the fake update!

Secondly, I am so sorry that I haven't truly updated in…what, a month now? You would not believe how busy I have been this month. I have traveled a thousand miles and my workload is awful.

However, I am still alive and John Wakefield hasn't found me yet

I promise I'm trying to get the next update out soon. Soon could mean anything, though. I also promise that I _will_ finish this story, even if I end up killing everyone off. Which I probably won't. Probably.

Thanks to all my reviewers- I appreciate it soooo much. Hey, and even if you don't have a FF account, leave me an anonymous review! It'd make my day!


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